Free Hytale Server: the Real Options and Their Catches

First things first: they all need the game

No Hytale server works without an account that owns the game. To play, everyone needs their own copy. And a dedicated server is linked the first time to the Hytale account of whoever sets it up (with a link and a code) so it can download the game files and accept players. What's free is the server, not the game.

1. Open your world to your friends with a code

Inside your single-player world, in the pause menu, the online play option lets others join: the game tries to open the port on your router by itself (UPnP) and gives you a code to share, with a password if you want. It's free and ready in a minute.

The catches: the world is only open while you're playing, your PC runs your game and everyone else's at once, and some networks (double router, work or university networks) make it hard for your friends. The code contains your IP address: only share it with people you trust. The steps and what to do if they can't connect are in how to play Hytale with friends.

2. The dedicated server on your PC

The official server is free: a Java 25 program that needs at least 4 GB of memory just for itself, and uses UDP port 5520. On a PC that's always on, the world stays there even when you're not playing. The steps are in the guide to creating a Hytale server.

You don't pay rent, but you do pay for that PC's electricity day and night, you have to open and forward UDP 5520 on your router (with CG-NAT, some ISPs won't let you) and you update it yourself: Hytale is in early access, changes version often and, if the server falls behind, nobody can join.

3. A free server from a host

Some hosts give out free Hytale servers, like Aternos. They really are free and they're fine for playing with friends, in exchange for limits: they stop when nobody's on, you have to start them from their website and, at peak times, you may have to wait.

4. The NapNodes free server

A dedicated Hytale server with 4 GB of RAM and 15 GB of disk, no card and no end date: the same RAM and the same CPU as our smallest plan, Village. It's one per person, for the game you choose. It doesn't depend on anyone's PC: you start it with “Start” in the panel when you want to play, and it stops on its own after 20 minutes with nobody on. It updates itself: it downloads each new Hytale version and applies it as soon as nobody's connected.

Worth knowing beforehand: the game takes up about 3 GB and each update downloads about as much again, so there's room for a world and mods, but not endless room; we email you at 80 % and 95 % of the disk. It has no panel backups: if the world matters to you, download it every now and then from “Files” (it's in the Server/universe folder). If nobody plays for 7 days in a row, it's deleted along with its world (we email you 2 days before). And paid servers come first: free ones use the RAM nobody has paid for, so if there's no space when you start it, you join the start queue and see your place in the panel. If all the free slots are taken, you join the waitlist and it's created automatically when there's room.

1. Create your account

   From “Create your free server”, with your email. No card needed.

2. Choose Hytale

   In “Buy”, the free server appears above each game's plans.

3. Start it and link it to your Hytale account

   The first time, the panel shows you a card with a link and a code. Open it, sign in with your Hytale account and confirm the code (it expires after 15 minutes; if it does, “Request another code”). For the first hour it won't stop even if nobody's on, so you have time.

4. Wait for the game to download

   Once it's linked, the server downloads the game (about 3 GB) and starts on its own within a few minutes.

5. Join

   Add the server in Hytale with the address and port shown in the panel, and send them to your friends. In Hytale you always need the port.

When is it worth paying?

When you want the world online at any hour without anyone having to start it or wait their turn, when there are several of you each exploring your own way or you're running mods, and when you want backups of a world that's weeks old. Village (4 GB) for a small group; Kingdom (6 GB) if there are more of you. How much you need is in the Hytale RAM guide.

From the free server, in “My plan & invoices”, “Choose a plan”: it's still the same server, with the same world and already linked. You pay for the full plan and the month starts that day.

Frequently asked questions