Listen Server vs Dedicated Server vs Hosted Authoritative

"Should I use a listen server or a dedicated server" is one of the most-asked questions in r/gamedev, r/godot, and the Unreal forums. In 2026 there is a third option that did not used to be practical for indies: a hosted authoritative server. Here is how the three compare.

The three models in one line each

• Listen server (player-hosted): one player's machine runs the server and the game at the same time. Everyone else connects to them.
• Dedicated server: a standalone server process runs on its own machine, separate from any player. It exists only to host the world.
• Hosted authoritative: a provider runs the dedicated, authoritative server for you and handles scaling, networking, and uptime.

Side by side

	Listen server	Dedicated server	Hosted authoritative
Who runs it	A player	You (a box you operate)	The provider
Cost	Free	VPS + your time	Usage-based, free dev tier
Stays online when host quits	No, session ends	Yes, always on	Yes, always on
Authoritative / cheat-resistant	Weak (host has full state)	Strong	Strong
Performance for the host	Degraded (host machine does double duty)	Full (no player load)	Full (no player load)
Setup difficulty	Low	High (SteamCMD, ports, patching)	Low (no infra)
NAT / port forwarding	Often required, or a relay	Required	Handled for you
Scaling	None	Manual	Automatic per session
Best for	Tiny trusted co-op	Communities running their own box	Games that want always-on without ops

Listen server: cheap, simple, fragile

The host plays and serves at once. It is free and easy, which is why so many co-op games ship it. The trade-offs are real:

• The world ends when the host leaves. In Palworld co-op, only the host keeps the save; everyone else has to wait for the host to restart the lobby. Lose the host, lose the session.
• The host can cheat and has an advantage, because their machine holds all the game state.
• Performance suffers, since the host machine renders the game and runs the server simultaneously, which can cause stutter for everyone.
• Connectivity is finicky. Players behind NAT need port forwarding or a relay (STUN, ICE, or UDP hole punching) to connect.

Host migration (handing the host role to another player when the original drops) sounds like the fix, but it is widely considered a dead concept in practice because of how complex and expensive it is to do well. Most co-op games simply end the session instead.

Dedicated server: always-on, authoritative, your problem to run

A dedicated server is a separate process whose only job is to host the world. It is always online, so friends can play even when you are asleep, and it is naturally authoritative. Valheim's dedicated server, for example, keeps the world online whether or not the original host is present.

The cost is operational. To self-host Palworld you need to know SteamCMD, forward ports, keep a PC running continuously, and handle updates and crashes. That is fine for a community that wants to run its own box (it is exactly what platforms like Supercraft automate for 27+ existing games), but it is a lot of plumbing if you are building your own game and just want a shared world.

Hosted authoritative: the always-on world without the ops

A hosted authoritative server gives you the dedicated-server benefits (always on, authoritative, full performance) without operating any infrastructure. The provider runs the server, handles NAT and connectivity, and scales instances with demand.

For a game you are building, Crux Realtime is this option: you define your world's rules (or describe the game) and Crux runs it as an authoritative service, syncs state to every player, survives reconnections, and spins instances up and down automatically. There is no box to provision and no port to forward. See what "authoritative" means for the underlying model.

Which should you pick?

• Tiny, trusted co-op, zero budget, fine if it ends when the host leaves: listen server.
• You or your community will run and maintain a box for an existing game: dedicated server (and a host like Supercraft makes that one click).
• You are building your own game and want an always-on, cheat-resistant shared world without a netcode team or an ops rotation: hosted authoritative.

If you are starting from an idea rather than an existing game, the next step is going from idea to a live co-op world without writing netcode.