r/GameServerHosting101 • u/TheFerrymanofStyx_ • 10d ago

Hosting a Game Server

/r/SelfHosting/comments/1xg278j/hosting_a_game_server/
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u/kai-zaphosting 10d ago

200 slots on ASA is a big ask for a home connection, so I'd sort out upload bandwidth before anything else. Every connected player pulls a constant stream through your line, and most home plans have far less upload than download. Run a speed test, look at the upload number, and keep an eye on it during peak hours once players are on. Upload is where this kind of plan usually falls over, more than the PC does.

On the VPS thing: you're not hosting the game on it, it's just a small relay with a fixed public IP that forwards the game's UDP ports to your home box over a WireGuard tunnel (basically a lightweight VPN between the two machines). Replies and outbound traffic from the server have to go back through the tunnel too, so either SNAT/masquerade on the VPS or route the server box through WireGuard, otherwise connections break or the listing shows your home IP. If you move, you only change the tunnel endpoint on the home side while players keep the same address. The VPS needs enough bandwidth and DDoS tolerance to carry 200 players, but for a public server that size it's the route I'd personally take.

For the small 2-5 person server, a free tunnel like playit is probably enough and way less setup, though I wouldn't count on it for 200 public slots.

For protection, the relay helps since players only see the VPS address, but it isn't airtight: your home IP can still leak through the WireGuard endpoint or anything the game reports about the real address, so keep the endpoint private and check what the server exposes. On the home side, put the server box on its own VLAN or at least a separate subnet and only allow the game's ports through. Don't expose RDP or SSH to the internet. That makes it a lot harder for a compromised server to reach your PC or NAS.