Dedicated server or playing at a friend's?
There are two ways to play Enshrouded with others:
- Player-hosted game — someone opens their world and the others join. The world is only available while the host is playing.
- Dedicated server — a separate program that keeps the world running all the time, even when nobody is online. Anyone with permissions can join whenever they want.
A dedicated server stores only the world (buildings, world progress). Characters stay with each player — Keen Games says it plainly: "Character progression is stored only on clients". You can take the same character to another server.
The server and version 1.0 (October 15, 2026)
Keen Games has not announced any changes to the dedicated server for 1.0 (as of October 10, 2026). The latest public server build on Steam is from May 11, 2026. After the 1.0 launch you will have to update the server to the same version as the game — with earlier patches the developers reminded players that the server version must match the game version. Saves carry over to 1.0 automatically (more about saves after 1.0), but the developers have said nothing specific about servers — copy the savegame folder before updating. We will update this guide once the 1.0 changelog is out.
Hosting your own server step by step (Windows)
What you need
Officially the server runs on Windows only — Keen Games: "For now, only Windows is supported. Linux support is planned for later." The developers publish no instructions for running it through Wine or Proton, so Linux is an unofficial, unsupported route.
Recommended hardware according to Keen Games:
| 4–6 players | 16 players | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7 3.2 GHz or AMD equivalent, 6 cores / 12 threads | Intel Core i7 3.7 GHz or AMD equivalent, 8 cores / 16 threads |
| RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage | SSD, at least 30 GB free | SSD, at least 30 GB free |
| Connection | about 2 Mbit/s upload per player, similar download | about 2 Mbit/s upload per player (16 players ≈ 32 Mbit/s) |
According to the developers' FAQ, the server process itself uses about 4.4 GB of RAM with no players, each player adds up to 100 MB, and the total should not exceed 6 GB. Each additional saved world takes up to 100 MB of disk space. The server files on Steam are about 8.8 GB (Keen quotes about 13 GB uncompressed and recommends 30 GB of free space).
Installing through Steam
- In your Steam library, tick the "Tools" filter — the server unlocks automatically when you own the game.
- Find Enshrouded Dedicated Server and install it.
- Right-click it → Properties → Installed Files → Browse. The server folder opens.
- Run
enshrouded_server.exe. The developers recommend running the.exerather than using Steam's "Launch" button. - On first launch a file called
enshrouded_server.jsonappears in the same folder — that is the whole server configuration. Stop the server, edit the file (see below) and start it again.
The server is ready when the log (the logs folder) shows [Session] 'HostOnline' (up)!.
Installing with SteamCMD (no Steam client)
On a machine without Steam (e.g. Windows Server) you can use SteamCMD. Keen Games does not describe this method, but the server is a free Steam app (ID 2278520) that can be downloaded without logging in to an account — we checked on October 10, 2026. Example:
steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\EnshroudedServer +login anonymous +app_update 2278520 validate +quit
The same command updates the server after a patch (stop it first).
Configuration: enshrouded_server.json
Open the file with any text editor. The most important fields (defaults from the developers' file):
| Field | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
name | "Enshrouded Server" | server name in the in-game list |
saveDirectory | "./savegame" | folder with the world save |
logDirectory | "./logs" | log folder (older logs go to logs/backup) |
ip | "0.0.0.0" | address the server listens on — only change it if you know why |
queryPort | 15637 | server port |
slotCount | 16 | number of slots: 1 to 16 |
tags | [] | tags for filtering the list, e.g. "LookingForPlayers", "English", "BaseBuilding" |
voiceChatMode | "Proximity" | proximity voice chat (Proximity) or server-wide (Global) |
enableVoiceChat | false | voice chat — off by default on servers |
enableTextChat | false | text chat — off by default |
gameSettingsPreset | "Default" | difficulty: Default, Relaxed, Hard, Survival or Custom |
gameSettings | (list) | detailed settings — used with "Custom" |
userGroups | 4 groups | player groups with passwords and permissions (below) |
bans | [] | banned players (easiest to ban in game, in the Social tab) |
Difficulty presets: Relaxed — fewer enemies, more resources and loot (for builders), Hard — more and more aggressive enemies, Survival — additional survival mechanics on top, Custom — a long list of individual settings (including day and night length, hunger, gear durability, fishing). If you type invalid text into a setting, the server will not start; numbers outside the allowed range are clamped to the minimum or maximum.
Passwords and player groups
The old password field has not worked since Update 2 (June 5, 2024). Instead of one password there are groups — each has its own password, and the password a player enters when joining decides their permissions. A freshly created file has 4 groups with random passwords:
| Group | Kick and ban | Chests in bases | Edit the world | Build in bases | Flame Altars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admin | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Friend | no | yes | yes | yes | no |
| Guest | no | no | yes | no | no |
| Visitor | no | no | no | no | no |
The columns are the fields canKickBan, canAccessInventories, canEditWorld, canEditBase and canExtendBase. The reservedSlots field reserves slots for a group — e.g. 1 slot for Admin means an admin can still get in when the server is nearly full. The developers recommend always setting passwords: give friends the Friend password and keep the Admin password to yourself.
Ports and network
- The default port is 15637 (
queryPort). If the server runs at home behind a router, forward this port to the server PC and allow the server through Windows Firewall. Keen Games does not say whether it is UDP or TCP — if your router asks, choose both. - Steam also uses its own ports — see Valve's "Required Ports for Steam" article (in the sources).
- The game uses IPv4 only — "Enshrouded is currently only utilizing IPv4 for multiplayer".
How to join the server
- In the game's main menu choose Join.
- In the filters, turn on showing dedicated servers. You can narrow the list with tags, e.g. language.
- Find the server by name or use search by IP address — it shows the port and lets you join directly.
- Enter your group's password.
The star icon adds a server to your favorites. If the server does not show up in the list, add it in the Steam client: View → Game Servers → Favorites → + and enter IP:15637.
Saves: where the world lives and how to roll back
- The server's world is in the
savegamefolder next toenshrouded_server.exe(with hosting companies, usually in the top level of the file manager). - Saves from the game on your own PC:
%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\enshrouded. World files have fixed hexadecimal names — the first world is3ad85aea, the second3bd85c7d, and so on. - Each world has 10 rolling copies (a new one about every 10 minutes and on shutdown). The
-indexfile says which copy is current (a value from 0 to 9) — changing it rolls the world back. Copy all save files before changing anything. - Moving a world from the game to a server: Keen Games publishes no step-by-step instructions. All that is documented is where the files are and what they are called — if you try it, back up both folders first.
Renting a server: Shockbyte, Nitrado, G-Portal
You don't need your own PC — you can rent the same official server from a hosting company. We compared three popular offers (in alphabetical order). Checked on October 10, 2026 on the companies' websites; prices are shown in the currencies the sites displayed to us — they depend on your country and selected currency, so we don't convert them.
| Shockbyte | Nitrado | G-Portal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $11.99 / month (4 players, 3 GB RAM) | £6.99 / 30 days (6 slots, incl. VAT) | €7.90 / 30 days (the site does not say for how many slots) |
| 16 players | $24.99 / month (5 GB RAM) | £15.13 / 30 days | €23.20 / 30 days |
| Slots | plans with 4, 8 or 16 | 6–16 | 4–16 |
| Billing | monthly; quarterly −10%, annually −25% | subscription or 30-day prepaid; custom period of 3–365 days | 30 or 90 days (e.g. 10 slots: €49.14 / 90 days) |
| Locations | "Global Locations"; 5 in Europe: Poland, Netherlands, Germany, France, United Kingdom | 8: Frankfurt, London, New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore | the Enshrouded offer only showed Central Europe |
| Extras | 72-hour refund, automatic backups and updates, full file access | daily backups, mods, switch the game on the server (up to 5 games) | Keen Games' official partner (also rentable from inside the game), 50 GB of backup space, mods, server ready in under 3 minutes |
| Platform | PC | PC | PC |
Prices and terms may change — the offer on the company's website prevails. The order of the table does not depend on any partnership with these companies.
Own server or rented — when each makes sense
Your own server makes sense if you have a powerful Windows PC that can run around the clock, a fast connection with good upload speed, and you play in a small, trusted group. It is free, but you pay for electricity and the PC is busy. If you always play together at the same time, a regular player-hosted game is often enough.
Renting makes sense if the world should be available 24/7 to many people at different times, your connection has weak upload (16 players need about 32 Mbit/s up), or you don't want to deal with ports, updates and backups. A rented server runs the same official program — gameplay is identical; only the price, location and control panel differ.
Frequently asked questions
How many players can a server hold?
From 1 to 16 — you set it in slotCount. 16 is the game's maximum.
Can PS5 players join a PC server?
Not in version 1.0. The developers wrote about crossplay: "we aim to offer it in the future, but it will not be ready for 1.0". Keen Games has not announced whether servers can be rented for PS5 (as of October 10, 2026).
Does the dedicated server cost money?
No — every owner of the game on Steam gets it. You only pay if you rent a server from a hosting company.
Is my character saved on the server?
No. The server holds the world; your character (level, skills, inventory) stays with each player and goes with them to other servers.
Will 1.0 wipe the world on my server?
The developers say saves will carry over to 1.0 automatically. There is no separate statement about servers — copy the savegame folder before updating the server.
Does the server run on Linux?
Not officially — Windows only. Since 2024 Keen Games has said Linux support is planned "for later", with no date.