Wreckfest 2 Server Hosting

What Wreckfest 2 Offers Online

Wreckfest 2 is Bugbear's sequel to Wreckfest, published by THQ Nordic and in Early Access on Steam since 20 March 2025. Bugbear rebuilt its physics engine for the sequel, with more detailed crashes and component damage, and the cars are what the store page calls old, dented and patched together.

Online, everything scales to 24 cars. With Content Update #9 on 15 October 2026, the game has Banger, Waypoint, Suicide and Chase races, and Last Man Standing, Deathmatch and Demolition Derby in its arenas. The store page lists 21 cars and 3 special vehicles, 15 circuits plus reverse routes, ovals, figure 8s, derby arenas, waypoint maps and suicide races.

A dedicated server turns that into a place. Instead of hoping a public lobby matches your taste, you run the events you like, with the cars you allow, at a location close to your drivers.

Running a Server in Early Access

Early Access means change. Bugbear has released a numbered content update every few months, each adding cars, tracks or modes, and many of them have changed the server too. Multiplayer collisions and deformation are now synchronised between players, race starts are in sync, and dedicated servers use less CPU during races and very little when nobody is connected.

• Keep the server current: drivers on a new build cannot play on an old server.
• Back up before updates: cups and playlists are your work; keep a copy before each content update.
• Read the changelog: Bugbear lists server changes under online and multiplayer headings.
• Expect gaps: career mode and modding support are still listed as coming later.

How Cups and Playlists Work

Cup Mode arrived in Content Update #5 in December 2025, and Content Update #6 in March 2026 made it the heart of the server. Instead of voting for a single event, players now vote for a cup: a sequence of events with its own points.

Both formats are JSON, so they are easy to read and edit in the File Manager. Bugbear's developer notes suggest studying the example cup config before writing your own, and starting a playlist from default_loop.becl. Content Update #4 also made the event rotation config changeable at runtime, so you can adjust it without rebuilding the server.

Car Restrictions and Spec Racing

Car restrictions live in each cup's definition, and Bugbear says they can be as fine-grained as you want. A reverse rule flag lets you disallow any car, which is handy for a cup that bans one overpowered vehicle, or one that only allows a single model.

For a level field, combine restrictions with the server setting added in Content Update #7 that disables car upgrades and tuning. Everyone then drives the same car in the same state, and the result depends on driving and on who hits whom first.

1. Copy the example cup config and give your cup a name.
2. Point it at a playlist built from default_loop.becl.
3. Set the point distribution for each position.
4. Add car restrictions, using the reverse rule where it is shorter.
5. Restart the server, join and run one event to check it.

Server Settings Worth Knowing

The server is configured in a JSON file, and since Content Update #7 the build ships with SERVER_CONFIG_GUIDE.pdf, Bugbear's own reference for it. A few features are worth switching on early.

Server commands such as cup reload, reset_countdown and idle_kick, fixed in Content Update #6 Patch #3, can be sent from the console when you need to step in.

Keeping Your Server Full

Players find servers in the in-game browser, which since Content Update #9 is sorted by the player's location, and since Content Update #1 can be searched by name and sorted by player count. A clear name with your community and the kind of racing helps.

Regular events help even more. A weekly cup night, a derby-only evening or a spec series gives drivers a reason to return. Steam friend invites, added in Content Update #1, make it easy for regulars to pull friends in.

Connections, Ping and Hosting at Home

Bugbear has spent a lot of the Early Access period on online play. Content Update #9 fixed dedicated servers eventually refusing new players, removed false high packet loss warnings and stopped online races starting before everyone was ready. It also added a warning for hosts whose connection may be behind CGNAT, a setup common on home broadband and mobile internet that can make a server hard to reach from outside.

That warning explains why many home-hosted servers never show up for friends. A server in a data centre has a public address and reachable ports from the start, so the question never comes up. It also keeps running when your own PC is off, and your upload is not shared with 23 other cars.

What to Compare Before You Rent a Wreckfest 2 Server

For an Early Access game, practical things matter most.

1. The full 24 carsCheck the plan really gives you the multiplayer maximum.
2. Fast updatesAfter a content update, your server needs the new build quickly.
3. File accessCups, playlists and the config are files; you need to edit them.
4. PingContact racing needs low latency. Test before you buy.
5. CPU speedPhysics sync and collisions benefit from fast cores.
6. BackupsProtect your cup setups before every update.

Wreckfest 2 Server Glossary

Cup

A sequence of events players vote for, with its own points and car rules.

.becl

A JSON playlist file in the server save folder listing a cup's events.

server_cup_config.ccnl

The JSON file that defines each cup's playlist, points and car restrictions.

Reverse rule

A flag in a car restriction that disallows the listed cars.

Banger race

A race where contact is expected and wrecking rivals is part of the plan.

Last Man Standing

A derby mode where the last working car wins.

Early Access

Steam's label for a game still in development and sold before release.

Spec lobby

A lobby where everyone drives the same car without upgrades or tuning.

Wreckfest 2 Server Help

Official pages and our own help.

• Wreckfest 2 on SteamCurrent content, roadmap and Bugbear's changelogs.
• Content Update #9 changelogThe latest server and multiplayer changes.
• Gaming Deluxe control panelHow the panel works and how to log in.
• Our server locations
• Contact support24/7 help with configs, cups and updates.