Vintage Story Multiplayer: How to Play With Friends

Vintage Story multiplayer gives your group three practical choices: open a world to LAN from a player’s game, run a dedicated server on a home computer, or use a managed server. The right fit depends on whether the host can keep the game open, wants to manage a home network, and wants to look after server files. Before anyone connects, make sure each player has a PC copy and account, everyone can use a compatible game version, and the host has shared the right address. This guide maps the options so you can pick a setup without turning game night into a networking project.

What are the ways to play Vintage Story multiplayer?#

Choose the setup based on what you want to keep running and who will maintain it. Open to LAN is the quickest way to share a world you already play. A home dedicated server separates the world from the game client. A managed server puts that maintenance with a hosting panel and provider.

Route	What stays running	Best fit	Main trade-off
Open to LAN	The host’s game and world	A short session with a nearby group	The world is unavailable when the host closes the game; remote access can need network setup
Dedicated server at home	A separate server process, PC and internet connection	An owner comfortable maintaining a computer and router	The owner handles updates, access, firewall and backups
Managed server	The rented server and its service	A group that wants the world available without keeping a player’s PC on	The group pays for hosting and should understand the provider’s panel and backup controls

For a one-evening session, Open to LAN may be enough. If the owner wants to play from a different computer or leave the world running when their game client is closed, look at a dedicated server. If you want the world without maintaining the home PC, Game Hosting’s Vintage Story page lists a managed option with world settings, owner whitelist and admin controls in the panel, plus three free backup slots. Its 24-hour trial does not require a payment card, which gives your group time to try its own connection before choosing a plan; it is not a guarantee that every home network will connect.

If you are still deciding whether a hosted plan fits, our Vintage Story hosting guide explains what to compare. You can also self-host; a paid server is a convenience, not a requirement for multiplayer.

Check each player’s PC, account and version first#

Every player needs a supported PC installation and their own valid Vintage Story account. The official system requirements list 64-bit Windows 10 or newer, macOS 13 or newer, and Linux. The official distribution lists PC clients; it does not list a console build, so do not plan on console crossplay. Use Vintage Story’s official store page for current purchase routes.

Account ownership matters. Vintage Story’s server configuration checks player authentication by default, and each person should sign in with their own account. Sharing one account or turning off authentication is not a connection fix. If someone cannot sign in, resolve the account or client issue before changing server security.

Keep the group on a compatible release. The official stable version feed listed 1.22.7 on October 9, 2026. That is a point-in-time check, not a version to hard-code into your server months later. Update the server and clients from the official distribution, then check the server’s current release and any mod requirements together. The game’s network-version check in the official source can allow patch builds within the same minor series, but using the same current release across the group is the easiest baseline to troubleshoot.

Self-hosting Vintage Story 1.22 or later also has a .NET 10 runtime requirement in the official dedicated server guide. This matters to the person preparing the server process; ordinary players should use the official client installer and its listed platform requirements. If a server fails before friends can join, check its runtime and startup log before changing router settings.

Connect with the address the host gives you#

The short join flow is the same idea whether the world is a friend’s LAN game or a dedicated host: open Vintage Story’s Multiplayer menu, add a server, enter a name and the host’s address, then create the entry. Use the address and port the host actually provides. Enter the password only if the host set one. The official dedicated-server guide documents the menu path.

For Open to LAN, the host needs to open the world to the network from the game’s multiplayer options and share the address shown or reachable from the other players’ computers. Players on the same local network may not need internet port forwarding. A friend connecting over the internet is different: the host’s router, firewall and internet service need a route to the game. If you use a managed server, use its panel-provided address and port instead of assuming the default.

Do not troubleshoot every failed connection as a port problem. First check that the host is actually sharing or running the world, the address is copied correctly, everyone is using a compatible release, and the password is right. If the game reports an account or whitelist denial, fix that access rule rather than weakening authentication. A short checklist helps the owner identify which layer needs attention before changing router rules.

Keep a home dedicated server reachable#

A home dedicated server runs separately from the host’s normal game client, but it still depends on the home computer and internet connection. The host must start the server process, keep the machine awake, allow the server through its firewall, and give remote friends an address they can reach. The computer hosting the process needs to remain on whenever the group wants to play.

The official multiplayer setup wiki documents 42420 as the default dedicated-server port and describes forwarding both TCP and UDP when direct remote access requires it. Treat that as the game’s default, not a promise about every installation: check the server’s actual port and config before editing the router. Do not forward unrelated ports, and avoid publishing a home network address in a public place. The port checklist explains how to match both rules to the server’s actual configuration.

If your group is on the same home network, test that route before involving an outside friend. For internet access, the owner may need to configure the router and the computer firewall. Some internet providers use carrier-grade NAT or restrict inbound connections, which can prevent ordinary port forwarding from working. The official self-hosting overview covers the home-hosting trade-offs; it does not replace checking your own router and provider.

If the host would rather not maintain a computer, firewall and backups, a managed server is the simpler branch. The owner can configure a Vintage Story world and set who can join through the Game Hosting panel. This is useful when the group wants a shared world available separately from one player’s game, while the free Open to LAN option remains reasonable for occasional sessions.

Set world access and roles before inviting everyone#

Decide who can join before you share the address broadly. Dedicated servers have whitelist protection enabled by default in the documented configuration since Vintage Story 1.20; an invited player may need to be added before the server accepts them. Open to LAN does not use that dedicated-server whitelist default. The official dedicated-server guide explains the setting and its scope.

Give full admin access only to people who will manage the world. Players who should build and explore do not all need the same authority as the owner. Vintage Story’s command reference currently labels itself outdated, and command behavior can change, so use the current in-game /help and current official documentation for exact commands. This guide intentionally does not copy old whitelist or operator syntax as if it were verified for your release.

A managed panel can make the owner setup less fiddly. Game Hosting’s Vintage Story panel lets the owner set their in-game account name; the panel adds that owner to the whitelist and grants admin access. It also exposes player and role controls. Confirm the owner account name carefully before saving, and check the panel’s visible result if the server is offline and applies the change on its next start. That owner workflow is separate from changing a home-hosted server’s own config.

Before the first long session, agree on a world name, password policy, who can change settings, and who will make a backup before updates. If you use a world preset or change generation settings, pick them before the group invests time in the save. A simple note with the current game version, owner, access method and next backup date is enough to help a friend cover for the regular host.

Know what happens to server-required mods#

Vintage Story mods come from its own official ModDB, not Minecraft mod sites or Steam Workshop. A server can offer its required server-side and universal mods to a player when they join. Since Vintage Story 1.16, the client can download that server list into a separate ModsByServer folder after the player accepts the offer. This does not mean every arbitrary client-side mod is installed for every player.

Mod compatibility still depends on the release, game version, side and dependencies. Check the ModDB entry and the author’s notes before adding a mod, especially when the server and clients are updated at different times. A client-only visual mod is a separate choice from the server’s required list. If the group wants mods, have one person maintain the list and tell everyone before changing it. Check each ModDB release and its author notes when the game version changes.

Back up the world before changing the game version or mod list. Vintage Story worlds use SQLite-based .vcdbs files, as the official world-data reference documents. The dedicated-server guide describes stopping the server before copying world files. Preserve the whole world through the server’s documented backup workflow rather than copying one database file while the server is writing to it. Confirm that a backup exists and that the owner knows how to recover it before making a change.

Choose who will keep the world running#

There is no single best way to play Vintage Story with friends. Use Open to LAN when the host is happy to keep the game open for a temporary session. Run a home dedicated server when someone is comfortable maintaining the separate process and home network. Choose managed hosting when the group wants to leave the world running without leaving a player’s PC on.

Before the first session, check four things: everyone has a supported PC and their own account; the server and clients use compatible releases; the owner has given the group the right address and password; and the world’s whitelist and roles match the people invited. If you install mods or update the world, make and confirm a backup first.

If you are organizing a roleplay community, our Vintage Story RP server guide connects the world, staff-role, land-claim and mod decisions into a launch plan.

The host can then share the connection details privately and keep the server version and access plan in one place. If a friend still cannot get in, use the in-game message to separate an account, version, password, whitelist or network issue. That is a better starting point than disabling authentication or changing several router settings at once.

Sources checked October 9, 2026

Quick answers

Is Vintage Story multiplayer?

Yes. Vintage Story supports multiplayer on PC. Each player needs a supported computer and their own game account.

Can you play Vintage Story multiplayer without a dedicated server?

Yes. Open a world to LAN for a session hosted from a player’s game. For remote friends, the host still needs a working network route, and the game must remain open.

Does the host need to stay online?

For Open to LAN, the host’s game stays open. A dedicated server runs separately, but its computer and connection must stay available; a managed server avoids keeping a player’s PC running.

Does every player need a Vintage Story account?

Yes. Each player needs their own valid account. Do not disable the server’s account verification to get around a login issue.