What Is a Dedicated Game Server?
A dedicated server runs the game world on its own, with no player hosting it. How it compares to peer-to-peer, listen servers, LAN and subscription worlds.
4 min read · Updated Sep 23, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team
A dedicated game server is a program that runs the game world by itself, with no player sitting at it, usually on a machine that stays on around the clock. This guide explains how that differs from the other ways multiplayer works, so you can tell which one your group actually needs.
The five ways multiplayer works
1. Peer-to-peer
Players' machines talk directly to each other, or one of them quietly acts as the authority. It is cheap for game developers because nobody runs servers, and it is common in fighting games and small co-op titles. The downsides: every player's connection affects everyone else, players can often see each other's IP addresses, and the session usually ends when the host leaves.
2. Listen server (player-hosted)
One player's copy of the game runs the world and plays in it at the same time. You have probably used one:
- Minecraft's Open to LAN
- Valheim's Start server option when you load a world
- Terraria's Host & Play
- Hosting a game from Don't Starve Together's menu
- Palworld's co-op mode, which allows up to 4 players
It is quick and free. But the world only exists while the host is playing, the host's PC does double duty (rendering their game and running everyone else's), and the host's home upload speed limits everyone.
3. LAN
Everyone is on the same local network, like a LAN party in one house. Ping is as low as it gets and no internet is needed, but only people in the building can play.
4. Dedicated server
The game world runs as its own program, separate from any player's game. Many games ship a free dedicated server tool for exactly this, including Valheim, Palworld, Project Zomboid, ARK, Enshrouded and Don't Starve Together. It runs without a screen or a player attached, so all of the machine's effort goes into the world.
What that buys you:
- The world is always there. Friends in other time zones can play while you sleep.
- Nobody's PC has to be on. The person who started the world is no longer a single point of failure.
- Higher player caps. Palworld's co-op tops out at 4 players; a Palworld dedicated server takes up to 32.
- Proper admin tools. Config files, whitelists, bans, RCON, plugins and mods.
- Players connect to the server, not to each other, so their home IPs stay private from one another.
Some games only do large-scale multiplayer this way. Rust, for example, has no player-hosted option at all: every Rust server is a dedicated server.
5. Publisher-run subscription worlds
Some publishers sell a simple always-on world as a subscription, Minecraft's Realms being the best-known example. They are easy: no setup, no config files. In exchange you accept fixed limits. Realms, for instance, is limited to about ten players online at a time and does not run custom server software, so there are no Java plugins or modpacks of your choosing.
Side by side
| Type | Who runs the world | Online when | Mods and plugins | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peer-to-peer | The players' machines | During a session | Rarely | Quick matches |
| Listen server | One player's game | The host is playing | Sometimes | Casual sessions with friends |
| LAN | A machine in the room | While you are together | Yes | Parties in one place |
| Dedicated server | A separate server program | 24/7 if hosted | Yes, full control | Persistent worlds and communities |
| Subscription world | The publisher | 24/7 | Limited | Small groups who want zero setup |
"Dedicated" means two different things
This trips a lot of people up. In hosting there are two uses of the word:
- A dedicated game server is the software described above: the world running on its own.
- A dedicated machine is renting an entire physical computer for yourself.
Game server hosting almost always means the first one. Your dedicated game server runs in its own isolated container on a powerful machine, with its own memory limit set by the plan you picked. You get full control of your server without having to manage, cool or pay for a whole computer. GuavaHost works this way: each server runs inside our Pterodactyl panel with the RAM you chose, on AMD Ryzen and Intel hardware with NVMe SSD storage.
Which one do you need?
- Two friends, only when you are all online: a listen server is fine.
- A group that plays at different times, or wants the world to keep going: a dedicated server.
- A public server, a modded world or anything with more than a handful of players: a dedicated server.
- You never want to touch a config file and the limits suit you: a subscription world can work.
Getting a dedicated server
You have two routes. You can run the game's dedicated server software on your own machine, which our guide on hosting at home vs renting weighs up honestly. Or you can rent one: pick your game from our games list, and your server is live within seconds with the panel, console, files and backups ready to use. Moving an existing listen-server world across is usually just a file upload; see uploading a Minecraft world or moving a Valheim world for two common examples.
Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.
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