How do you create a Palworld server? If you’re wanting to catch Pals with friends, you can host your own private Palworld server with up to 32 players, and developer Pocket Pair even has plans to increase the player amount in a future update.
Whether you’re brand new to the game or you’ve completed your Palworld Paldeck, playing with friends can completely change the game. If you are planning to jump into Palworld multiplayer, be sure to check which platform to choose given that Palworld crossplay isn’t available just yet, and familiarize yourself with how to create your own Palworld server below.
How to create a dedicated Palworld server
You’re going to need to own a copy of Palworld on Steam if you want to set up a dedicated server. If you’re an absolute beginner to the world of dedicated servers, you need to have a fairly decent PC to run the server software and it has to run at all times for your users. Unfortunately, the tool to create a dedicated Palworld server isn’t available to Xbox Game Pass users right now, but this might change in the future.
This software can be complicated to use depending on your computer literacy level, so you may want to avoid this process for now if you aren’t comfortable using Windows’ command prompt feature. Give Valve’s SteamCMD guide a read before attempting to run your own Palworld server to refresh yourself on some of the basics.
Here’s what you need to create a dedicated Palworld server:
- Open up Steam and head to the library tab. Underneath the Home button, click ‘Games and Software’, and make sure the ‘Tools’ box has been ticked.
- Providing you own a copy of Palworld on your Steam account, you should be able to find ‘Palworld Dedicated Server’ in your Steam library.
- Launch ‘Palworld Dedicated Server’ and select the first option, ‘Play Palworld Dedicated Server’.
- When SteamCMD is ready, copy and paste the following command into the box: ‘steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 2394010 validate +quit’.
- We’re going to head to the folder we just downloaded by using the following command: ‘cd .\steamapps\common\PalServer’.
- Now that we’re in the Palworld server folder, all we have to do is type ‘PalServer.exe’ and the dedicated server should start to run.
- You can change the port number used to listen to the server with the following command: ‘port=8211’ (replace 8211 with a different number).
- Send your friends your external IP along with the port number (formatted like this: xxx.xxx.xxx:xxxx) and have them join via the server browser.
It’s still very early days so there are a few crucial features that are missing from Palworld dedicated servers, including setting a server password. The developers say this feature will be added to the game in the next update, but for now, if you desperately need a password you will have to play on a community server.
Speaking of community servers, if you’re playing with up to four people, then multiplayer is the best option with the online co-op play mod, which doesn’t require setting up a server. You’ll still be able to invite friends, adventure together, and battle and trade Pals.
How to host a Palworld private server
Although private Palworld servers don’t have anywhere near the same amount of options as you get with a dedicated server, they are considerably easier to set up.
Here’s what you need to create your own Palworld private server:
- From the main menu, head to Start Game and create a new world.
- Enable multiplayer and change any of the settings you want to customize your gameplay experience.
- Click Confirm at the bottom of the screen, then press Start Game to begin playing.
- Once you’re in the game, press escape, head to the Options tab, and copy the Invite Code.
- Send the Invite Code to your mates, though it should be noted that private Palworld servers can only host a maximum of four players.
That’s how to host a dedicated server in Palworld. For more information about the survival game, here are the best Pals available in the Palworld starter area, all of the Palworld jobs, and how Palworld breeding works. Don’t worry if this server stuff sounds overly complicated – you can also play Palworld single-player offline if that’s what you prefer.