Abiotic Factor Server Hosting

Why run a dedicated Abiotic Factor server?

In Abiotic Factor your group plays scientists trapped inside the GATE Cascade Research Facility, turning office supplies into weapons, exploring labs and dealing with whatever comes through from other dimensions. The game's built-in co-op depends on the host's PC: when that person quits, everyone gets dropped.

A dedicated server removes that dependency. The world lives on the server, so whoever is free can log in, unlock recipes at the research bench, expand the base or push into the next sector. For groups spread across different schedules, it changes the pace of the whole playthrough.

Version 1.0 launched on July 22, 2025, bringing the game to PS5 and Xbox Series along with crossplay. Dedicated servers accept every platform by default, and the -PlatformLimited parameter lets you restrict access to Steam, PlayStation or Xbox players only.

How many players and how much RAM?

Abiotic Factor is designed for 1–6 player co-op. The -MaxServerPlayers parameter accepts values up to 24, but the developer's own documentation says going above six is not recommended for most worlds, because enemy balance and server load both shift as the group grows.

Memory use depends on how many parts of the facility players occupy at once and how many items, structures and enemies accumulate in the world. A group that moves together keeps the load low; four players in four different sectors means the server simulates all of them at the same time.

That is why Silver 6GB is a sensible start for a standard six-person team, and Gold 8GB gives a long-running, loot-heavy world more breathing room. Communities that want to push past six should look at Platinum or Diamond. Launching with -useperfthreads tells the server to use the CPU's performance threads.

How do you edit SandboxSettings.ini and Admin.ini?

Gameplay rules live in SandboxSettings.ini inside your world folder under AbioticFactor/Saved/SaveGames/Server/Worlds, and the file has to begin with the [SandboxSettings] header. HungerSpeedMultiplier and ThirstSpeedMultiplier control survival pressure, EnemySpawnRate and EnemyHealthMultiplier set enemy difficulty, DeathPenalties decides what you lose on death, and ItemDurabilityMultiplier governs how long tools last. PowerSocketsOffAtNight toggles the nightly power cut across the facility, and LootRespawnEnabled decides whether loot comes back. To point at a different file, use -SandboxIniPath.

There are two routes to admin rights. Set a password with -AdminPassword and elevate yourself in game, or add Steam IDs under [Moderators] in Saved/SaveGames/Server/Admin.ini. Changes take effect after a restart, so make a panel backup part of the routine before each edit.

Can you move your existing co-op save to the server?

Yes, single-player and player-hosted worlds from Steam can be moved over. On Windows they sit under %LocalAppData%\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames, in the Worlds directory inside the folder named after your Steam ID.

Upload that world folder over SFTP into Saved/SaveGames/Server/Worlds on the server. The server loads a folder called Cascade by default, so either rename your upload to Cascade or put your own folder name in the -WorldSaveName parameter. Back up the existing Cascade folder before overwriting it.

There is one hard limit: according to the developer's documentation, PS5, Xbox and Windows Game Pass saves are not supported on dedicated servers. A group that started on console should begin a fresh world on the server.

Connecting players and handling updates

Players find your server by name in the in-game server browser; the name shown there comes from -SteamServerName. If you set a password, they are asked for it when joining. Console players only need crossplay switched on in their game settings to see you.

Abiotic Factor gets regular updates, and the client and server need to be on the same version. If friends suddenly cannot connect after a patch, first check whether the server has been updated too, and take a world backup before restarting it from the panel.

For performance, the two settings that matter most are the player cap and enemy spawn rate. If a busy session is struggling, bring -MaxServerPlayers back to 6 first, then lower EnemySpawnRate. If you expect the group to keep growing, you can upgrade your plan at any time.