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dedicated serverPATCH 2026.10.16

How to Enable Persistent Worlds on a Space Engineers Server

By VGSources Team 9 min read

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To keep a Space Engineers world available while you are offline, run it on the Space Engineers Dedicated Server instead of hosting it from a player client. The dedicated server loads the world without requiring the original host to remain in the game. Install the server, copy an existing save into its dedicated-server save directory, enable Auto-Save and backup saves, and stop the process gracefully when restarting. Those four controls determine whether progress survives players leaving, reboots, and maintenance.

What a persistent world means in Space Engineers

A player-hosted world is tied to the client that started it. When that host exits, the simulation is no longer available to other players. A dedicated server separates the simulation from any participating player, so the world can continue to be available when the person who created it is offline.

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Persistence does not mean that every unsaved action is indestructible or that the machine can be powered off without consequence. The server must write the world to disk, and the host must shut it down in a way that allows the latest state to be saved. Auto-Save, backup saves, and a graceful stop are therefore part of the setup rather than optional extras.

Keen Software House documents the Dedicated Server interface as the supported way to load a saved world, configure maintenance behavior, and run the server as a service. The service option can start an instance after Windows reboots, while a foreground instance runs only as long as its server process remains open.

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Check the host requirements before installing

The current dedicated-server guide publishes separate minimum and recommended figures. These are host requirements, not a guarantee of a particular player count or simulation performance.

Component Published minimum Published recommendation
Processor speed 3.2 GHz 4.5 GHz
Logical cores 3 3
Memory 6 GB RAM 10 GB RAM

The guide also lists Windows, .NET Framework 4.8, and the Visual C++ Redistributable 2017 or newer for x64 as required software. Reserve storage for the server files, logs, world saves, and downloaded mods. The guide estimates approximately 8 GB for the SEDS installation itself; your saves and mod downloads require additional space.

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These figures do not include a published uptime guarantee, a player-capacity guarantee, or a network-latency target. A machine can satisfy the stated minimum and still need more headroom for a large or heavily modded world.

Install the Space Engineers Dedicated Server

Install through Steam

  1. Open Steam and switch to the Tools section of your library.
  2. Install the Space Engineers Dedicated Server tool.
  3. Allow Steam to finish downloading the server files and required components.

If you are deploying without the Steam client, the documented SteamCMD application ID is 298740. Use SteamCMD to install that application on the Windows machine that will host the world, then complete the same configuration steps below.

Start a foreground instance

  1. Run SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe.
  2. Choose Local/Console when the launcher asks how the instance should run.
  3. Continue to the server configuration screen, where you can select a world and set the server options.

Foreground mode is useful when you are configuring or actively monitoring one server. The console window and process must remain running; closing it stops the instance.

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Create a background service instance

  1. Run the dedicated-server program as Administrator.
  2. Choose Add new instance.
  3. Give the instance a distinct name and configure its world and network settings.
  4. Assign unique ports if you create more than one instance on the same machine.

Service mode is designed for unattended operation. Its documented behavior is to start the instance after a reboot, so a Windows restart does not require someone to log in and launch the server manually. Administrator rights are required during this setup, and every instance needs its own ports to avoid collisions.

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Move an existing local world to the dedicated server

A local world does not automatically appear in the dedicated server’s world list. Copy the save folder first, then select it in the server interface.

Find the local save

  1. Stop playing the world and exit the regular game.
  2. Open the normal game data location: AppDataRoamingSpaceEngineersSaves under your Windows user profile.
  3. Identify the folder for the world you want to host. Copy the complete world folder, not just an individual blueprint or file inside it.

Keen’s dedicated-server documentation describes this as copying a previously created world from the regular game’s save directory to the corresponding dedicated-server folder.

Copy it to the dedicated-server Saves directory

Depending on the installation and configuration, dedicated-server saves are commonly found at %APPDATA%SpaceEngineersDedicatedSaves. The dedicated-server guide also documents a system-level location under ProgramDataSpaceEngineersDedicated. Use the location used by your installation; do not create a second similarly named folder and expect the server to discover it.

  1. Make sure the server process is stopped before copying, or copy only after a confirmed save.
  2. Paste the complete world folder into the dedicated server’s Saves directory.
  3. Start the dedicated-server instance.
  4. Open New game / Saved worlds and select the copied world.
  5. Save the instance configuration and start the server.

If the world is not listed, recheck the exact save path first. A correctly copied folder in the regular game’s directory will still be invisible to a server that reads from the dedicated-server directory.

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Turn on Auto-Save and backup saves

Enable Auto-Save

In the server’s world or instance settings, enable Auto-Save. This makes the server periodically write the active world instead of relying only on a manual save or shutdown. The published documentation does not promise a universal save interval, so treat Auto-Save as routine protection rather than a guarantee that the last few seconds of play will be preserved.

Keep restore points with Max Backup Saves

Set Max Backup Saves to a value above zero. The server then retains earlier save versions that can be opened from the load screen. A backup is valuable when a world becomes corrupted, a mod change causes a problem, or an unwanted edit is discovered after the current save has already been written.

Choose a number that fits your available storage and the frequency with which you make risky changes. The setting controls how many backup saves are retained; it is not an off-site backup system. Copies on a separate drive are still needed for protection against a failed host disk.

Restart and stop the server without losing recent progress

Use the documented graceful stop command

The official dedicated-server page documents this command as a correct way to stop the process while saving the world:

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taskkill /IM SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe

Run it when you intend to restart or shut down the instance. Do not add the forced /f option when preserving the latest progress is the priority. Forced termination can prevent the normal save operation from completing, leaving the world at an earlier Auto-Save or backup point.

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If several instances are running, take care that your stop procedure targets the intended process. The command names the executable rather than a world name, so service controls or an instance-specific administrative procedure may be more appropriate for a multi-instance installation.

Understand the last-session option

The -ignorelastsession option deliberately ignores the last automatic save and loads values from configuration instead. It is a recovery or configuration choice, not a persistence setting. If a server appears to revert despite a recent save, check whether this option is present in the launch configuration before replacing the world files.

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Build a backup routine that survives hardware failure

Auto-Save and Max Backup Saves protect the live installation, but they do not protect against a failed drive, accidental deletion, or a damaged Windows installation. The backup guide places regular game data under %APPDATA%SpaceEngineers and dedicated-server data under %APPDATA%SpaceEngineersDedicated. The documented ProgramData location may also apply to a dedicated-server installation.

  1. Use the graceful stop command, or wait for a confirmed save, before copying a world folder.
  2. Copy the complete dedicated-server world folder to separate storage.
  3. Keep more than one dated copy so that a bad save is not the only copy available.
  4. Before a major mod change or game update, make an additional manual copy.
  5. To restore, stop the server, preserve the current folder as a safety copy, and place the known-good world folder back in the active dedicated-server Saves location.

The documentation states that Steam Cloud does not save worlds. A cloud-enabled game library therefore should not be treated as a replacement for copying the dedicated-server save folder. An external USB drive can be used for those copies, but it does not run the server and does not replace the Windows host.

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Why a server still resets after a restart

The server loads a new world

This usually means the instance configuration points to a different world than the one you edited. Open New game / Saved worlds, select the intended save, and verify that the folder you copied is in the dedicated-server save directory rather than only in AppDataRoamingSpaceEngineersSaves.

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Recent actions are missing

Check whether the server was stopped with a forced termination. If it was, the latest changes may never have reached disk. Restart from the last known-good save, enable Auto-Save, and use the documented non-forced stop command for future maintenance.

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The last automatic save is being ignored

Remove or review -ignorelastsession in the launch configuration if you do not intentionally want to bypass the last automatic save. That option tells the server to use configuration values instead of the last session’s saved values.

The copied world does not appear

Check all of the following:

  • The server is stopped while the folder is copied.
  • The complete world folder is inside the active dedicated-server Saves directory.
  • You are using the installation’s actual location, either the documented %APPDATA%SpaceEngineersDedicatedSaves path or the configured ProgramDataSpaceEngineersDedicated location.
  • The folder came from the regular game’s AppDataRoamingSpaceEngineersSaves location.
  • The server was restarted after the copy and the saved-world list was opened again.

The server does not return after a reboot

Confirm that you created a service instance rather than a foreground Local/Console instance. Service mode requires the documented Administrator setup, and each instance must have unique ports. A foreground console process will not automatically reappear merely because Windows restarted.

Players cannot connect even though the world is present

World persistence and network reachability are separate problems. Check the instance’s port configuration and make sure another server instance is not using the same ports. The dedicated-server requirements guide does not publish a universal port or player-capacity guarantee, so use the values configured for your installation and network.

Self-hosting or managed hosting?

You can run the Dedicated Server on your own Windows machine or use a managed game-server provider. Both approaches use the same persistence concepts: the server must load the correct save, Auto-Save must be enabled, and the world must be stopped gracefully.

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Decision point Self-hosted server Managed server
After a host reboot Service mode can start the instance automatically, provided Windows and the service are configured correctly. The provider manages the machine restart process, but the provider’s restart and recovery policy must be checked.
Administrative control You control the executable, configuration, files, mods, and backup copies. The provider supplies a control panel and limits access according to its plan.
Hardware responsibility You provide Windows, CPU, memory, storage, maintenance, and power. The provider supplies and maintains the server hardware.
Backup access You can copy the save folders directly and choose separate storage. Confirm how to download, schedule, and retain world backups before relying on the service.
Network setup You configure ports and deal with your own connection and latency. The provider handles the network endpoint, but location and latency still depend on the selected region.
Cost There is no hosting-plan fee, but you pay for the machine, electricity, storage, and maintenance. Pricing, regions, retention, and restart policies vary by provider and must be verified for the current plan.

Keen’s dedicated-server page identifies an official PC hosting option, but current prices, regions, uptime commitments, and backup terms are not fixed by the server software documentation. Evaluate those details separately instead of assuming that a managed service automatically supplies off-site backups or guaranteed uptime.

Persistent-world checklist

  • Install the Dedicated Server through Steam Tools or SteamCMD with application ID 298740.
  • Confirm Windows, .NET Framework 4.8, Visual C++ Redistributable 2017+ for x64, and adequate CPU, memory, and storage.
  • Choose Local/Console for a foreground process, or create an Administrator-configured service instance for automatic startup after reboot.
  • Give every server instance unique ports.
  • Copy an existing world from AppDataRoamingSpaceEngineersSaves into the active dedicated-server Saves directory.
  • Select the world under New game / Saved worlds.
  • Enable Auto-Save and set Max Backup Saves above zero.
  • Copy world folders to separate storage after a confirmed save; Steam Cloud does not save worlds.
  • Use taskkill /IM SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe for a documented graceful stop, without /f when the latest progress matters.
  • Review -ignorelastsession if the server intentionally bypasses the latest automatic save.

Bottom line

A persistent Space Engineers world comes from hosting the simulation on the Dedicated Server, not from leaving a player client open. Put the correct world in the dedicated-server save path, enable Auto-Save and backup saves, configure service mode if you need automatic startup, and always shut the process down gracefully. With those safeguards and separate copies of the save folder, player absence and normal reboots no longer have to erase the campaign’s progress.

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