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Killing Floor 2 Server Hosting
Hold the line against the Zeds with your team while the AI copilot keeps the server standing.
What do you need to host a Killing Floor 2 server?
To host a Killing Floor 2 server you need Tripwire's free dedicated server (SteamCMD app 232130), 3–4 GB of RAM, UDP ports 7777 and 27015 reachable, and a filled-in PCServer-KFGame.ini with your name, passwords and map cycle. Or skip the install and rent a KF2 server: GameTeam's Killing Floor 2 server hosting charges per GB of RAM, from $0.49/GB a week, never per slot (KF2 itself caps Survival at 6 and Versus at 12), and the AI copilot sets difficulty, wave count and Workshop maps when you ask.
Run your Killing Floor 2 server by just asking.
KF2 spreads one server across four ini files, and the Workshop setup only works if two lines in the engine file are exactly right. Say how hard you want the night to be and which maps to pull. The copilot edits the files with the server stopped, restarts it and checks the log.
Your Maps, Your Difficulty
Workshop maps and settings declared by the copilot; the first boot pulls them.
Cheap to Keep
KF2 needs little RAM — keeping the server up between sessions costs almost nothing.
Same Server, Next Game
When the Zeds are done, switch the server to whatever comes next.
Killing Floor 2 with friends
A co-op survival shooter about waves of horrifying specimens and the satisfyingly excessive firepower it takes to stop them. Six players, escalating waves, a boss at the end — and a community server keeps the maps and difficulty you like.
Killing Floor 2 server RAM requirements
3-4 GB.
| Your server | Starting RAM | From (Budget, weekly) |
|---|---|---|
| 6-player Survival on stock maps | 3 GB | $1.47 / week |
| Survival with Workshop maps and mutators | 4 GB | $1.96 / week |
| 12-player Versus Survival | 4 GB | $1.96 / week |
KF2 runs on Unreal Engine 3 and stays light. Memory goes up with the Workshop content you load and with Versus, not with a bigger wave count. These are starting points: change RAM in one click from the panel and your configs stay as they are. Player limit: 6 for standard survival, 12 for versus modes.
How to set up a Killing Floor 2 server on GameTeam
Pick RAM and a location
3 GB covers a 6-player squad on stock maps. Pick the location closest to most of the team. We have 25+ across Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.
Set up the night
Tell the copilot the difficulty, the game length, the password and any Workshop maps you want, or edit PCServer-KFGame.ini and PCServer-KFEngine.ini in the file manager while the server is stopped.
Get the squad in
Give your server a recognisable ServerName and the team can find it in KF2's server browser. Players enter the game password if you set one.
Good to know before you start
Workshop maps are declared in the server configuration and downloaded at start, so the first boot after adding several is slow.
Killing Floor 2 server settings explained
KF2 writes its working configs to KFGame/Config the first time the server starts, as copies of the default files. Edit the PCServer- files, never the defaults, and only while the server is stopped. These are the settings squads change most:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
AdminPassword | In [Engine.AccessControl] of PCServer-KFGame.ini. The master admin password, and your WebAdmin login. |
GamePassword | Same section. Players need it to join. Leave it empty for a public server. |
ServerName | In [Engine.GameReplicationInfo]. The name shown in the server browser and in game. |
AdminContact | Same section. Contact shown in the server browser. |
GameLength | Waves per game: 0 short (4), 1 normal (7), 2 long (10). |
bUseMapList + GameMapCycles | Set bUseMapList=True and list your maps in GameMapCycles=(Maps=("KF-BurningParis","KF-Bioticslab",…)) to replace the full default rotation. |
BannerLink / ServerMOTD / WebsiteLink | The welcome screen: a PNG banner, the message under it (\n for a new line) and your site. |
NetServerMaxTickRate | In [IpDrv.TcpNetDriver] of PCServer-KFEngine.ini. Server tick rate, default 30. |
ServerSubscribedWorkshopItems | In [OnlineSubsystemSteamworks.KFWorkshopSteamworks] of PCServer-KFEngine.ini. One line per Workshop item ID. |
DownloadManagers | Put OnlineSubsystemSteamworks.SteamWorkshopDownload first in [IpDrv.TcpNetDriver] so players download Workshop content from Steam. |
bUsedForTakeover | In [Engine.GameEngine]. Set to FALSE to keep matchmaking groups from taking over your idle server. |
bEnabled / ListenPort | In [IpDrv.WebServer] of KFWeb.ini. Turns WebAdmin on and sets its port (8080 by default). |
Killing Floor 2 server commands
A KF2 server takes most of its options on the launch line: URL options chained with ? after the map name, then switches. The game mode can also be changed from the Change Map tab in WebAdmin. The copilot can change these for you too.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
?Difficulty=0–3 | 0 Normal, 1 Hard, 2 Suicidal, 3 Hell on Earth. |
?MaxPlayers=6 | Most players allowed. Survival, Weekly and Endless are 6-player modes. |
?Game=KFGameContent.KFGameInfo_VersusSurvival?maxplayers=12 | Versus Survival, up to 12 players. Works on Burning Paris, Biotics Lab, Prison, Voltor Manor and Farmhouse. |
?Game=KFGameContent.KFGameInfo_WeeklySurvival | Weekly Outbreak. Needs outbound UDP 123 to look up which week it is. |
?Game=KFGameContent.KFGameInfo_Endless | Endless mode. |
?AdminPassword=<password> | Sets the admin password from the launch line. |
-Port=7777 | Game port. The query port moves with it unless you set -QueryPort. |
-QueryPort=27015 | Port the Steam master server talks to. |
-WebAdminPort=8080 | WebAdmin port (Tripwire marks this switch as beta). |
-ConfigSubDir=<name> | Reads a separate set of ini files from a subfolder of KFGame/Config, for a second server. |
-Multihome=<ip> | Binds the server to one IP on a machine that has several. |
Can I add mods to a Killing Floor 2 server?
Yes, through Steam Workshop for maps and mutators, declared in the server configuration.
Workshop maps and mutators are listed by ID in PCServer-KFEngine.ini, and the server downloads them when it starts. That first boot can take several minutes. Each map's real name sits in KFGame/Cache/<id>/0/BrewedPC (the .kfm file), and that name goes into GameMapCycles. Write it in lowercase in the KFMapSummary entry that makes the map show up in WebAdmin. Keep the rotation under 519 maps; Tripwire's wiki says more than that breaks the server. The old redirect method still exists, but Tripwire lists it as deprecated in favour of the Workshop.
Killing Floor 2 server ports
On GameTeam there is nothing to forward: the panel shows your server's exact address and port, which may differ from these defaults.
Pay per GB of RAM. Never per slot.
You pay for memory, not seats, and billing can be weekly, so you are never locked into a month the group might not play. Change RAM in one click, or switch the same server to another game. The AI copilot is included on every plan.
- ✓ AI copilot included on every plan
- ✓ Unlimited player slots — we never charge per slot
- ✓ Ryzen 9 7950X · NVMe storage
- ✓ DDoS protection included
- ✓ Switch to another game anytime
- ✓ 25 GB NVMe storage · 160 Gbps DDoS protection
- ✓ AI copilot included on every plan
- ✓ Unlimited player slots — we never charge per slot
- ✓ Ryzen 9 7950X · Unlimited NVMe storage
- ✓ 480 Gbps DDoS protection
- ✓ Switch to another game anytime
- ✓ Dedicated threads
- ✓ Automatic backups
- ✓ Priority support
Hardware & network
Locations
What server owners say
"Honestly didn't expect much from an 'AI manager', but it's how I run my server now. I'll type something like 'why did the server crash last night' and it actually reads the logs and tells me."
Verified review
"I'd been on two other hosts before this. What sold me was the AI manager catching a memory leak in one of my mods and naming the exact one — something I'd been chasing for weeks."
Verified review
"I'm not very technical and setting up servers always stressed me out. Now I just ask the assistant to fix a config, and it either walks me through it or does it for me."
Verified review
Killing Floor 2 server hosting FAQ
How do I host a Killing Floor 2 server?
Two ways. Do it yourself: download the free dedicated server with SteamCMD (app_update 232130, anonymous login, no KF2 purchase needed for the server), start it once so it writes its config files, set your name and passwords in PCServer-KFGame.ini, and forward UDP 7777 and 27015. Or rent one: on GameTeam you pick RAM and a location, the server is set up for you, and the copilot handles the ini files. The KF2 dedicated server guide walks through the do-it-yourself route on Windows and Linux.
What is the difference between a listen server and a dedicated server in Killing Floor 2?
A listen server runs inside one player's game and closes when that player quits. A dedicated server is a separate program that runs on its own, so the squad can play without the usual host, and your map list, difficulty and Workshop content stay put between sessions. KF2 leans on dedicated servers: a private match started from matchmaking can be placed on an idle community server through Server Takeover. Running your own dedicated server, and opting out of takeover, is how you keep full control.
Can I host a local Killing Floor 2 server?
Yes. The dedicated server runs on Windows or 64-bit Linux, so you can start it on a spare PC at home and play on your network without forwarding anything. For friends outside your home, UDP 7777 and 27015 have to be open on the router, and the PC has to stay on whenever anyone wants to play. A rented server avoids both.
How much does Killing Floor 2 server hosting cost?
You pay per GB of RAM: $0.49/GB a week on Budget, or $1.99/GB billed monthly. A 3 GB server for a 6-player squad is $1.47 a week; 4 GB for Workshop maps or Versus is $1.96 a week, or $7.96 billed monthly. Every player slot is included and so is the AI copilot.
Can I rent a Killing Floor 2 server for just a week?
Yes. A Killing Floor 2 server rental on GameTeam can be billed by the week, so a few nights of waves cost one week, not a month. Keep it as long as the squad plays, add RAM in one click if you load more Workshop content, or switch the same server to another game later. The first 72 hours are money-back.
Is Killing Floor 2 still active?
Yes. Even with Killing Floor 3 out since July 2025, Tripwire still runs seasonal KF2 events: a Spring and a Summer 2026 double-XP event, and a Halloween 2026 sale running October 22 to November 5, with double XP in its launch week. Community servers are a big part of why the game lasts: custom maps, mutators and long-running squads all live on them.
Are the Killing Floor 2 servers still up?
Tripwire's own services are still running; they announced routine maintenance on June 4, 2026 and did not expect it to affect play. Your own dedicated server doesn't depend on a matchmaking pool anyway: it stays up for as long as you run it, and players find it in the server browser by name.
How do I add custom maps to my KF2 server?
Stop the server, add one ServerSubscribedWorkshopItems= line per Workshop ID under [OnlineSubsystemSteamworks.KFWorkshopSteamworks] in PCServer-KFEngine.ini, make OnlineSubsystemSteamworks.SteamWorkshopDownload the first download manager, then start it so it downloads the maps. Add the map names to GameMapCycles. On GameTeam, paste the IDs to the copilot and it does all of that.
How do I update my Killing Floor 2 server?
On GameTeam, stop the server and start it again from the panel and it updates to the latest version, so it matches your squad's game. Your PCServer- ini files stay as they are. Doing it yourself, run app_update 232130 in SteamCMD again; leave off validate if you edited KF2Server.bat, because validate overwrites it.
Run it yourself — or let the copilot.
Same server, any game.
Your squad's KF2 server, ready for the next wave.
Deploy it, tell the copilot your difficulty and maps, and send the team the server name.
Deploy your Killing Floor 2 server