Rent an Insurgency: Sandstorm Server

Up to 28 at once. Competitive matches with 10 to 14 players run fine on 4 GB RAM; budget 6 GB if you want a full 28-player lobby.

Sandstorm (2018) is New World Interactive's ground-up rebuild on Unreal Engine 4 — sharper visuals, new modes like Frontline and Hardcore, a cosmetics system, and ongoing development. The 2014 original still runs on the older Source engine and sees no active development.

Push, Frontline, Firefight, Domination, Hardpoint, Skirmish and Outpost are all available, alongside the cooperative mode against AI. Custom modes via Mod.io can be added on top.

Through Mod.io directly from the dashboard: set up custom maps, skin packs and gameplay tweaks there. Everyone who wants to play together needs the same mods enabled.

No. The dedicated server installs through anonymous SteamCMD without any account of its own. Only players who want to join need their own copy of Insurgency: Sandstorm on Steam.

Typical initial setup: about 25 minutes. Queues or large installations can take longer. Then set server name, map, mode and max players in the control panel — the server shows up in the community browser on its own.

Every mcfreehost server ships with its own address such as yourserver.mc.mcfreehost.com right from the start. Rename it anytime from the dashboard — no ticket required.

Monitoring and database add-ons — Uptime Kuma, MariaDB, phpMyAdmin, Game Server Watcher — never carry a surcharge. For music and chat bots, the first slot you activate is included; every additional bot is billed on top, and the dashboard shows the exact cost before you switch it on.

Typical initial setup: about 25 minutes. Queues or large installations can take longer. Larger Steam installs can take a bit longer depending on the game.

No — you are on a subscription that renews monthly, and you can cancel it from the dashboard whenever you like; the same goes for turning off automatic renewal.

You choose the location at checkout: Germany (Falkenstein and Limburg) or France (Roubaix) — all in the EU, connected to the major European exchanges. Low pings for players across Germany, Austria and Switzerland at both locations, and solid latency for the rest of Europe.

The best provider is the one that shows you what you get before you pay: RAM, slots, location, price and cancellation terms. Here the price and resources are visible in the configurator before checkout, there is no minimum term and setup is automated — feel free to compare that with other offers. Insurgency: Sandstorm starts here at 5.99 EUR per month, and setup typically takes about 25 minutes.

Self-hosting costs power, time and a machine that runs around the clock; port forwarding, updates and backups are on you. A rented server is online within minutes, keeps running when your PC is off, and updates and backups are included; data-center DDoS protection is included at every location. For one or two friends on a single evening self-hosting is often fine — for a persistent world, renting pays off.

Yes, you can do it yourself in the customer area using a slider. An upgrade takes effect immediately: you only pay the prorated difference for the remaining term, and the new price applies from the next renewal. A downgrade takes effect on the next renewal date. Your world, settings and subdomain are kept, and depending on the game, a restart is required afterwards. With monthly payment and a minimum term, the change is only possible once that term has ended, and for games with a slot-based plan it is not available.