Palworld Dedicated Servers and how to set them up

Palworld base — (Image credit: Pocketpair, Inc.)

A Palworld dedicated server will allow players to get the most from online multiplayer, having their own personal server into which up to 32 players can come and hang out, creating guilds and working either with or against each other. Admittedly, right now dedicated servers are unique to the Steam version of Palworld specifically - those on Xbox or PC Game Pass will have to make do without that option, at least for the time being. Otherwise, this guide below will explain how to set up a dedicated server in Palworld, and set you up for online play nicely!

How to set up a Dedicated Server in Palworld

You can set up a dedicated server in Palworld (in Steam only) by doing the following:

1. Install and open Palworld at least once.

2. Install Palworld Dedicated Server on Steam (it'll be under "Tools")

3. Open the Palworld Dedicated Server Installation Folder via Properties

4. Open the file DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini in Notepad and copy everything beneath the third line.

5. Go to PalServer\Pal\Saved\Config\WindowsServer in your files and paste the copied text into PalWorldSettings.ini, then save and quit.

6. Launch the Palworld Dedicated Server, and select Play Palworld Dedicated Server.

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This process is specific to Steam - there's no way to set up a server if you're going via Xbox or even PC Game Pass. You can adjust features like server name, description and add passwords in the PalWorldSettings.ini file, then after you start a dedicated server, players can join simply through the Palworld multiplayer option in the regular game, picking "Join Multiplayer Game" and searching for the server you've made.

If you want further info on how safely to run a server for the game, the developers of Palworld have an official tutorial on how the feature works here.

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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.