When choosing a host for your game servers, you have many options. Some are more costly than others, but offer more flexibility. Which one is right for you?

First, let’s look at the different options available. You can choose a game server company, or you can rent a dedicated server. Running a server from your home can be another option, but because of the downsides I recommend either choosing a host or renting a dedicated server.

If you are only going to be running one or two servers and will not be part of a gaming clan, then I suggest going with a game server hosting company. There are many of them to choose from, all with varying prices. Perhaps one of the most popular hosts is a company called GameServers. They offer many different game and voice servers for a fair price, have a large user base, active forums for support, a web based control panel to manage your servers, and an FTP connection so you can upload mods and maps for your server to use.

If you will be starting a clan, using a voice chat server, and running several servers, then you may consider a dedicated server. Dedicated servers will be a bit of an investment to start, but are well worth it. A dedicated server is a computer that sits in a data center on a super fast connection. You connect to this server via RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) and actually see the desktop as though are you sitting in front of the computer itself. From here you have full functionality and can create as many game servers, voice servers, databases, websites, etc that you could ever want.

A company called Nuclear Fallout is a popular choice for dedicated servers and is arguably the most affordable option out there. They offer great features such as ping fixes, no setup fees, 2 day free trial, up to date hardware, and much more. They are a company that I have used myself in the past and highly recommend.

In the end it’s up to you to decide which option fits you best. A dedicated server can cost upwards of $150.00, however purchasing many game servers from a hosting company can cost just as much depending on player slots, and the number of servers you rent from them.