The complete guide · 5 min read
The Complete Guide to Cubic Odyssey Server Hosting
A practical guide for crews setting up a shared galaxy: what the dedicated server does, how many players to plan for, how settings and characters work, and how to keep a long-running world healthy through updates.
By Matthew Griffin, Owner, Gaming DeluxePublished · Updated
In this guide
- What a Cubic Odyssey Dedicated Server Changes
- Planning the Size of Your Crew
- Settings, Characters and Progress
- Keeping the Server Current Through Updates
- Building and Exploring Together
- Solving Common Problems
- Hosted Server or Your Own PC?
- What to Compare Before You Rent a Cubic Odyssey Server
- Cubic Odyssey Server Glossary
- Cubic Odyssey Server Help
What a Cubic Odyssey Dedicated Server Changes
Cubic Odyssey is an open-world adventure across a galaxy of block-built planets. Players mine resources, craft tools and weapons, build vehicles, bases and starships, trade with NPC cities and fight the Red Darkness, a spreading infection that mutates wildlife and consumes planets. It launched on 14 May 2025 from Atypical Games, published by Gaijin Network.
Until October 2025, playing together meant one player hosting a peer-to-peer session. On 13 October 2025 Atypical Games launched dedicated servers as a separate free app for PC owners, in beta at launch. The studio's announcement highlights the main differences: lobbies of up to 20 players, more than the peer-to-peer system allowed, and a world that runs even when the host is not in the game.
For a crew that plays at different times, that changes everything. One friend can mine on a Tuesday night, another can finish a ship on Wednesday, and the whole group can meet at the weekend for a pirate base, all in the same galaxy without waiting for the owner to be online.
Planning the Size of Your Crew
Slots are the number of players who can be connected at the same time. The official dedicated server holds up to 20, and most groups are far smaller. Think about how many people will be online together at peak times rather than how many will ever join.
| Your group | Suggested plan | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Two to six friends | 6 Slots | One crew, one adventure, the lowest price |
| Several friend groups | 12 Slots | Room for crews on different planets, with 8GB RAM |
| A growing community | 12 Slots, then talk to us | We can advise as your numbers approach the official limit |
Settings, Characters and Progress
Atypical Games set up the dedicated server through a configuration file. Before release the studio listed a wide range of settings for server owners, including the game mode and a password, and update 1.2.2.1 in January 2026 added several difficulty settings to the server. Open the configuration in our File Manager, make your choices, save and restart.
- New character per server: each dedicated server needs its own character, and that character's progress stays tied to the server.
- Progress is server-side: the studio says progression and inventory are saved on the server, so nothing is lost if one player's PC fails.
- Invites: the owner shares the server's session ID with the people they want to invite.
- Mode and difficulty: decide them at the start, because changing them mid-galaxy changes the game for everyone.
Tell new players about the separate character before their first login. People who have spent weeks on a single-player hero are less surprised when they know in advance that the shared galaxy is a fresh start.
Keeping the Server Current Through Updates
Cubic Odyssey is still being developed. Since dedicated servers launched, patches have fixed synchronisation and quest problems on server sessions, reworked combat, added the Steam Workshop for blueprints, brought in agriculture, a custom starting planet and, in update 1.3.1.0 in July 2026, taming, pets and crossbreeding.
- Read the patch notes when an update arrives.
- Take a backup of the world in the Backup Manager.
- Update the server so it matches the players' game version.
- Check the configuration, because the festive update in October 2025 reset server settings.
- Start the server, read the log and join once to make sure everything works.
- Tell your crew the server is ready again.
Building and Exploring Together
Shared galaxies work best with a little organisation. Agree which star system is home, who looks after the shared base, and how loot from pirate bases is split. Chests can be locked, which helps keep personal storage personal when a dozen people pass through one base.
Workshop blueprints are a quick way to give a new crew member a ship worth flying. Since update 1.2.0.0 players can share their own designs and download others' from the shipyard and the blueprint window, so one good builder can equip the whole group.
Solving Common Problems
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A player cannot join | Version mismatch after a patch | Update the server to the current game version |
| Settings back to default | Reset by a game update | Re-apply your settings in the configuration |
| Character missing | New server, new character | Each server needs its own character, by design |
| Server will not start | Error in the configuration | Read the log or restore the last backup |
The server log in our Web Console usually shows what went wrong within seconds of a start. If it does not, open a ticket with the time and what you changed last, and our support team will help at any hour.
Hosted Server or Your Own PC?
Anyone who owns the game on PC can run the free dedicated server tool from their Steam library. Running it at home, though, means leaving a computer on around the clock, sharing your upload with every player and dealing with your router. The galaxy is only online while that machine is.
A hosted Cubic Odyssey server runs in a data centre on a fast CPU and NVMe storage, behind DDoS filtering, with backups kept offsite. Your crew can drop in whenever they like, and the shared galaxy keeps evolving whether you are playing or not.
What to Compare Before You Rent a Cubic Odyssey Server
For a game that is still evolving, these are the points that make a real difference.
- Honest player countsThe official server launched with a 20-player limit; check that the plan you pay for fits it.
- Config file accessYou need the real configuration file to set mode, password and difficulty.
- Fast updatesThe server must match the players' version after each patch.
- BackupsA saved world protects weeks of building from a bad update or mistake.
- Ping to your crewTest from where your players live before you choose a location.
- No lock-inLook for monthly billing with no setup fee and no minimum term.
Cubic Odyssey Server Glossary
- Dedicated server
- A program that runs the shared galaxy without anyone playing on that machine.
- P2P session
- A peer-to-peer game hosted on one player's PC, which ends when they leave.
- Session ID
- The identifier a server owner shares so invited players can join.
- Red Darkness
- The galactic infection players fight, which mutates wildlife and consumes planets.
- Adventure mode
- The game's story and survival mode.
- Creative mode
- A mode for building without the usual survival limits.
- Blueprint
- A saved design of a ship or structure, shareable on the Steam Workshop.
- Slots
- How many players can be connected to the server at the same time.
Cubic Odyssey Server Help
Useful pages for setting up and running your server.
How this guide was made: researched from the Cubic Odyssey Steam store page and Atypical Games' announcements and patch notes on Steam, drafted with AI assistance, checked against our live order form for every plan, price and location, and reviewed by Matthew Griffin before publishing. Something out of date? Tell us.
Sources, checked 23 October 2026:
- Cubic Odyssey on Steam (developer, publisher, release date, features, platforms)
- Atypical Games, Dedicated Servers Are Here (up to 20 players, free separate app, per-server characters, beta; Steam news, 13 October 2025)
- Atypical Games, An Update on Dedicated Servers (settings, session ID, server-side progress; Steam news, 1 August 2025)
- Atypical Games, Halloween 2025 and the Festive Update (server settings reset; Steam news, 28 October 2025)
- Atypical Games, Update 1.2.0.0 with Workshop (Steam news, 26 November 2025)
- Atypical Games, Update 1.2.2.1 (server difficulty settings; Steam news, 26 January 2026)
- Atypical Games, Co-op Improvements in Update 1.0.2 (lockable chests; Steam news, 18 June 2025)
- Atypical Games, Update 1.2.5.0 (agriculture; Steam news, 24 March 2026)
- Atypical Games, Update 1.2.5.5 (custom starting planet; Steam news, 14 May 2026)
- Atypical Games, Update 1.3.1.0 (pets and taming; Steam news, 8 July 2026)
- Atypical Games, How to Stop The Red Darkness (platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5; Steam news, 26 May 2025)
- Gaming Deluxe order form, Cubic Odyssey Dedicated Game Server