3 best VPNs to host game servers safely

Publish date: 2024-06-08
VPN software for hosting game servers

Gaming has always been one of the fundamental uses of a house PC. A while ago, many games had official dedicated multiplayer servers you could connect to and play with your friends.

However, times have changed and users now prefer a more personal approach. Thus, instead of using dedicated hosting servers (if any), they create and manage their own game servers.

BEST VPNS WE RECOMMEND

The benefits of hosting game servers

The perks of hosting your own server range from being able to control the number of connected players, manage hardware, and even solve any issue that might occur (if you have the know-how).

However, hosting a public server often means that you have to forward some ports and stick to a static IP address. If you don’t plan security and privacy carefully enough, you might jeopardize your network‘s integrity in no time.

Alongside firewalls and blacklisting/whitelisting, VPNs might seem like a good idea in this scenario. This type of service can secure your connection and give you a much-needed privacy boost. You can also improve your ping with VPN.

Let’s see how all of this fits with hosting a game server.

VPN requirements for hosting a game server

It only makes sense that we’ll only target VPN services that can meet at least the three requirements above.

Private Internet Access is an excellent VPN solution from Kape Technologies that covers a broad range of needs. Whether you want to keep your online whereabouts to yourself or look for a corporate VPN solution, PIA has you covered.

This service can cloak your real IP address and assign you a new one. That way, pesky tracking services can’t identify you, regardless of the online activities you choose to engage in. Obviously, that includes gaming.

You can use this VPN on a broad range of devices, such as PC, iOS, Mac, Android, and more.

PIA holds an impressive count of over 3,000 servers distributed wide across 66 locations in 46 countries. It uses popular, secure technologies including PPTP, OpenVPN, SOCKS5 (Proxy), and IPsec/L2TP to keep your connection both private and fast.

Take a look at PIA’s key features:

Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access

Want to host a game server through VPN? PIA supports port forwarding, static IP addresses, and fast, low-ping servers.

Hide.me is an efficient VPN service from eVenture Ltd. that can protect your online privacy and secure your connection. It almost checks off all of the requirements we’ve listed above. Thus, you can use it if you want to host a game server.

However, note that it only supports dynamic port forwarding. The team behind the project considers static port forwarding a security risk (as it should). More so, Hide.me doesn’t offer dedicated IP addresses, but it has the Fixed IP address feature.

You can reserve an IP address on the VPN server and you’ll be assigned that address every time you connect to said server. However, if the server is very loaded, there’s a chance that someone else will receive your reserved IP.

The same goes for port forwarding. The port you want to forward might’ve grabbed it before you, so there are some risks involved if you want to emulate static port forwarding.

Hide.me’s key features:

Hide.me

Hide.me

Can’t seem to host your game server while using VPN? Hide.me can simplify your task

PureVPN is a great service from GZ Systems Limited you can use to give your connection a privacy boost. You can safely use it in a wide array of scenarios, like making a Minecraft server for you and your buddies.

As promised, we’re only going to deliver VPN solutions that check off the requirements on our list above. Not only does PureVPN offer port forwarding support, but you can also buy a static, stable IP address for your server.

However, note that both port forwarding and dedicated IP features are add-ons. Therefore, you’ll have to purchase them separately from the base PureVPN subscription.

Last, but not least, its servers are fast enough and can take the heat of running a game server.

Let’s take a look at PureVPN’s key features:

PureVPN

PureVPN

This VPN can help you host a game server and protects you from DDoS attacks.

Why using a VPN to host game servers isn’t a great idea

While using a VPN might surely increase both your privacy and security, configuring to support hosting a game server can be somewhat tricky. First of all, you’ll need to have the know-how, since it’s a quite complex process.

Assuming that you do, you’ll have to tackle the following challenges:

The bottom line is that you can successfully host a game server through a VPN. However, you have to go to extreme lengths to make sure it stays online all the time and it’s stable enough that your clients can connect to it and remain connected.

Your connection is not secure - websites you visit can find out your details:

Companies can sell this information, alongside your location and internet provider name, and profit from it by serving targeted ads or monitoring your data usage.

We recommend Private Internet Access, a VPN with a no-log policy, open source code, ad blocking and much more; now 79% off.

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