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Best VPS for Game Servers in 2026

Published May 3, 2026  ·  10 min read  ·  Dakota Hopson, Galaxy Cloud Solutions

← Back to Blog

Best VPS for Game Servers in 2026

Published May 3, 2026  ·  10 min read  ·  Dakota Hopson, Galaxy Cloud Solutions

I've run game servers before starting Galaxy Cloud Solutions — a FiveM RP server specifically. And building one-click installers for Minecraft, FiveM, Valheim, CS2, and Palworld on our platform meant actually testing what each game needs to run well. This guide is based on that direct experience, not spec sheet comparisons.

⚡ One-click game server installers included — from $5/mo, use code LAUNCH2026 for 50% off

What Every Game Server Needs

Before getting into specific games, here are the universal requirements:

• KVM virtualization: Not OpenVZ. Game servers need real kernel access. OpenVZ containers share a kernel and will cause weird issues with some games.
• SSD storage: Game servers write a lot — world files, player data, logs. Spinning disk will noticeably hurt performance.
• Low latency network: High ping kills the game experience. Pick a server location close to your players.
• DDoS protection: Game servers get DDoSed. A lot. Make sure your provider has mitigation in place.

Game-by-Game Requirements

Minecraft Java Edition

Players	RAM	Recommended Plan
1-5 friends, vanilla	2GB	Nebula 2 ($10/mo)
5-20 players, vanilla/Paper	4GB	Galaxy 1 ($20/mo)
20-50 players or modpacks	8GB	Galaxy 2 ($35/mo)

Minecraft is Java so it's RAM hungry but not CPU intensive. The biggest variable is whether you're running vanilla, Paper (optimized), or a modpack. Heavy modpacks like All the Mods can need 8-12GB just for the server process.

FiveM (GTA V Roleplay)

Players	RAM	Recommended Plan
Small server, QBCore	4GB	Galaxy 1 ($20/mo)
Active RP server, 20-50 players	8GB	Galaxy 2 ($35/mo)
Large server, 50+ players	16GB	Supernova ($65/mo)

FiveM has one extra requirement: your VPS needs to support x86-64-v2 CPU instructions. This means CPU passthrough mode — not the generic kvm64 type. All our plans use host CPU passthrough. If your provider doesn't, FiveM will refuse to start.

Valheim

Players	RAM	Recommended Plan
Up to 10 players	2GB	Nebula 2 ($10/mo)
10+ players or large worlds	4GB	Galaxy 1 ($20/mo)

Valheim is surprisingly light. The server process itself is lean. World file sizes grow over time but even large worlds are only a few hundred MB. A 2GB VPS handles a friend group comfortably.

CS2 (Counter-Strike 2)

Use Case	RAM	Recommended Plan
10-player competitive server	4GB	Galaxy 1 ($20/mo)
Multiple servers or workshop maps	8GB	Galaxy 2 ($35/mo)

CS2 servers are CPU bound more than RAM bound. You want good single-core performance and low latency. The server itself doesn't need much RAM but the OS overhead adds up.

Palworld

Players	RAM	Recommended Plan
Up to 4 players	8GB	Galaxy 2 ($35/mo)
Up to 32 players	16GB	Supernova ($65/mo)

Palworld is RAM hungry. The official recommendation is 16GB for a full server. You can get away with 8GB for a small group but don't try to run it on less.

The One Feature That Matters Most: DDoS Protection

Game servers get attacked. It's just a fact. Players get frustrated, lose in-game, and some of them respond by DDoSing the server. Without DDoS protection, a cheap attack can take your server offline for hours.

All Galaxy Cloud Solutions VPS are behind Cloudflare DDoS protection. This isn't marketing — it's something I specifically care about because I've had game servers go down to DDoS attacks before and it's miserable.

Our One-Click Game Server Installers

Every Galaxy Cloud Solutions VPS includes one-click installers for:

• 🎮 FiveM QBCore — full setup including MariaDB, txAdmin, QBCore framework
• ⛏️ Minecraft — Paper server, latest version, systemd service
• ⚔️ Valheim — dedicated server, auto-start on boot
• 🎯 CS2 — competitive server setup
• 🦕 Palworld — dedicated server with correct memory allocation

You click the button, we handle the setup, you get an email when it's ready.