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Running your own Hytale server: what it actually needs

Tutorials & Guides  ·  Christopher Sakel  ·   ·  5 min Reading time

In brief
  • Hypixel Studios does not publish official server requirements. The figures found in most guides are estimates with no source.
  • In practice, a Hytale server for a group of friends gets by on far less than what's claimed everywhere — what matters is player count and view distance, not a fixed figure.
  • There are three paths to your own server: the PC at home, your own VPS, or a ready-made game server. The best-value option is rarely the cheapest one.

Why everyone suddenly wants their own server

Hytale has been in Early Access since January 13, 2026. But it only became interesting for server renters with Update 5 on May 26: since then there's Server Discovery, a server list built right into the game. Before that, you had to make your server known via Discord, third-party lists, or word of mouth — now people find it in the game itself. That's the difference between "my four friends play together" and "strangers find my server," and it explains why demand has picked up since early summer.

There are no official requirements — and that matters

Search for Hytale server requirements and you'll find strikingly uniform figures: 4 GB RAM as a baseline, a specific Java version, a fixed UDP port. These numbers appear in many guides, but they don't come from Hypixel Studios. The studio has so far published no system requirements for running a server — the figures are simply copied from one guide to the next.

That doesn't mean they're wrong. It means nobody has verified them. If you're buying hardware or booking a package based on them, you should know what you're relying on.

What a Hytale server actually needs

We've been running Hytale servers on our platform since the egg became available. The booked configurations there range from 1 GB RAM and one core up to 8 GB and four cores, and from 5 to 15 GB of storage. The median is 1 GB RAM and one core — and those servers run fine.

That doesn't contradict the commonly cited 4 GB recommendation, it puts it in context: four gigabytes is a sensible margin for an open server with strangers on it. For three to five friends on one world, it's plenty. What actually drives requirements is two things: the number of players active at once and the configured view distance. Both increase the slice of the world the server has to hold in memory at the same time.

Start small and watch how it behaves. A game server can be scaled up in minutes; hardware you bought too large stays too large.

The three approaches compared

PC at home
  • No rental fee
  • Full control over everything
  • Good for trying it out
But
  • 5 to 15 € in electricity per month if run continuously
  • Your upload bandwidth is the limit
  • PC off means server off
  • Your home address is tied to the IP

The computer at home is ideal for testing and rarely the right choice for continuous operation. The electricity alone eats up the price advantage, and on most connections the upload is the bottleneck, not the processor.

  1. Ready-made game server. You book it, the game is preinstalled, and you get a web panel for start, stop, configuration, and backups. The fastest route, and the one with the least that can go wrong. With us, game servers start at 4.00 € per month.

  2. Your own VPS. You get an empty machine with root access and set everything up yourself. More work, but you can put several games, a Discord bot, and a website on the same machine. Worth it if the Hytale server isn't going to stay the only thing on there.

  3. PC at home. Perfectly fine for an afternoon with friends. Not for a server that's still running while you're asleep.

Networking: what to watch out for

Hytale speaks UDP, not TCP. That's where most self-hosted servers fail: if you only open TCP in the firewall, you get a connection that appears to establish and then transmits nothing.

When self-hosting, you have to open the port in the machine's firewall and forward it on the router. With a rented server, both steps go away — you get an address and port already assigned, and with us you also get your own subdomain, so your fellow players don't have to remember a string of numbers.

What we won't promise you

Hytale is in Early Access. There are weekly preview builds and a regular update every two to six weeks, and requirements and configuration formats can change with any of them. If you set up a server today, expect to have to adjust it now and then. That applies equally to rented and self-hosted servers — with a rented one, we take care of the underlying platform, but the game itself remains Early Access.

If you start with us and find that one gigabyte is too tight, you change it in the customer area; we bill prepaid and cancellable monthly, so today's decision doesn't lock you into anything.

Sources

  • Hytale News — Early Access since January 13, 2026, Server Discovery with Update 5 on May 26, 2026
  • The figures for RAM, CPU, and storage come from running our own Hytale servers, not from third-party guides.

Frequently asked questions

How much RAM does a Hytale server actually need?
Hypixel Studios gives no official figure. On our platform, the median booked configuration is 1 GB RAM and one core, and those servers run fine. That's enough for a small group of friends; for an open server with strangers and high view distance, 4 GB is the more sensible margin. What matters most is the number of players active at once and the configured view distance.
Which port does Hytale need, and why doesn't my forwarding work?
Hytale communicates over UDP, not TCP. That's the most common mistake when self-hosting: if you only open TCP in the firewall, you see a connection that appears to establish and then transmits nothing. With a rented server, you get an address and port already assigned and don't need to open anything.
Is a server on your own PC at home worth it?
For trying it out, yes; for continuous operation, rarely. Running the machine continuously adds up to roughly 5 to 15 € in electricity per month, and on most connections the upload bandwidth is the limit, not the processor. On top of that, if the PC is off, the server is gone — and your home address is tied to the IP.
Game server or your own VPS — which fits better?
A ready-made game server is the fastest route: preinstalled, with a web panel for start, stop, configuration, and backups. Your own VPS is worth it if the Hytale server isn't meant to stay the only thing running — then a Discord bot, a website, and other games can live on the same machine. More freedom, more work of your own.
Can I get more RAM later if the server turns out too small?
Yes. Better to start small and watch how the server behaves with your player count. Scaling up takes minutes in the customer area. We bill prepaid and cancellable monthly, so your first decision doesn't commit you to anything.

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