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Left 4 Dead Server Hosting
Run the campaigns and Versus with your crew while the AI copilot keeps the safe room open.
What does Left 4 Dead server hosting need?
Left 4 Dead server hosting for the original game is about as light as it gets: 1–2 GB of RAM, Valve's free Left 4 Dead Dedicated Server (Steam app 222840, not the L4D2 one), port 27015 open, and a left4dead/cfg/server.cfg that accepts direct connects. With your own dedicated server No Mercy, Versus and add-on campaigns stay at one address, and nobody's PC has to host. On GameTeam you pay per GB of RAM, from $0.49/GB a week, with no slot pricing, and the AI copilot edits the config and runs the console for you.
Run your Left 4 Dead server by just asking.
The first Left 4 Dead runs on console variables and map commands that hardly anyone remembers any more. Tell the copilot what you want to play: it writes server.cfg, loads the map in the right mode and activates new add-on campaigns from the console.
No Host Migration, Ever
The server is up whether or not the person who usually hosts is.
Custom Campaigns That Load
The copilot sets up fast download so players get the map instead of being dropped.
Cheap for Years
A Source server barely uses RAM — keeping the group's server costs very little.
Left 4 Dead with friends
The original four-player co-op zombie shooter: four survivors, a campaign, and an AI director that makes sure it never plays the same way twice. Versus mode puts a second team in as the infected, and it is still one of the best team games ever made.
Left 4 Dead server RAM requirements
1-2 GB.
| Your server | Starting RAM | From (Budget, weekly) |
|---|---|---|
| 4-player co-op Campaign or Survival | 2 GB | $0.98 / week |
| 8-player Versus, add-on campaigns, a few plugins | 2 GB | $0.98 / week |
The 2008 server process needs well under the 2 GB of our smallest plan, so one size covers almost every Left 4 Dead server. The busy moment is a Tank fight in a full horde, and that leans on the CPU, not on memory. If you pile on plugins and big add-on campaigns and see the server struggle, add RAM in one click. Player limit: 8-16 depending on mode.
How to set up a Left 4 Dead server on GameTeam
Choose a location
Take the 2 GB plan and the location closest to most of the group. We run 25+ locations in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.
Set the mode and the rules
Ask the copilot for Versus, Expert co-op or a password, or edit left4dead/cfg/server.cfg in the file manager. Add-on campaigns go into left4dead/addons.
Bring the survivors in
Each player opens the developer console and types connect followed by the address from the panel. Add your Steam group ID and the server shows up for group members too.
Good to know before you start
Custom campaigns need fast download configured or players cannot join the map.
Left 4 Dead server settings explained
Left 4 Dead reads left4dead/cfg/server.cfg when it starts. The file isn't there after a clean install, so you write it, or let the copilot. Most of the original's settings carried into the sequel, but the default mode list is shorter here: coop,survival,versus,teamversus.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
hostname | Name shown in the server list. |
sv_allow_lobby_connect_only | Defaults to 1, which only admits players from a matchmaking lobby. Set it to 0 so friends can connect by IP. |
sv_password | Join password for a private server. Empty means anyone can join. |
rcon_password | Lets an admin send console commands from their own game. |
sv_gametypes | Modes the server allows: coop, survival, versus, teamversus. |
mp_gamemode | The current mode. Set it through the map command, for example map l4d_vs_hospital01_apartment versus (Versus uses its own l4d_vs_ copies of the maps). |
z_difficulty | Easy, Normal, Hard (Advanced) or Impossible (Expert). |
sv_steamgroup | The ID of your Steam group, so members find the server from the main menu. |
sv_steamgroup_exclusive | With 1, only group members can use the server while it's empty; the public can join once someone is playing. |
sv_search_key | Only lobbies searching with the same key get matched to this server. |
sv_allow_votes | Turns in-game voting on or off. Default 1. |
sv_vote_kick_ban_duration | How many minutes a vote-kicked player stays banned. Default 5. |
sv_consistency | Checks players' critical files on join. Default 1. |
sv_visiblemaxplayers | Changes the player count the server advertises in the browser. |
Left 4 Dead server commands
Type these in the panel console, or prefix them with rcon in your game after setting the RCON password. Or just ask the copilot to do it.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
status | Shows the map, every connected player with their ID, and the server address. |
map <map> versus | Loads a map in a mode; map l4d_hospital01_apartment coop starts No Mercy as a campaign. |
changelevel <map> | Switches map and keeps the mode. |
update_addon_paths;mission_reload | Picks up a new add-on campaign from left4dead/addons without a restart. |
kick <name> / kickid <id> | Removes a player by name, or by user ID with a message. |
banid / addip | Bans by Steam ID or by IP. writeid and writeip save the lists to banned_user.cfg and banned_ip.cfg. |
listid | Lists the banned IDs. |
exec server.cfg | Reloads the config file. |
Can I add mods to a Left 4 Dead server?
Yes. SourceMod plugins and custom campaigns are supported, with clients downloading maps through fast download.
Custom campaigns in the first game are add-ons: a .vpk file holding the maps, navigation, poster and mission file. Put it in left4dead/addons on the server, then run update_addon_paths;mission_reload or restart. Players need the same add-on, and the server advertises which campaign it has, so a lobby searching for that campaign can find you. Left 4 Dead has no Steam Workshop, so add-ons come from community sites instead.
Left 4 Dead server ports
Nothing to forward on GameTeam. The panel shows the address and port your server actually uses, which can differ from the defaults. Keep in mind the server ignores browser queries until a map is loaded.
Pay per GB of RAM. Never per slot.
You pay for memory, not seats, and the weekly plan lets you start with a single week. 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
Left 4 Dead server hosting FAQ
Is this the original Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2?
This page is the 2008 original, which runs its own server (Steam app 222840) and its own campaigns: No Mercy, Death Toll, Dead Air, Blood Harvest, Crash Course and The Sacrifice. For the sequel, see Left 4 Dead 2 server hosting. Players can't join one game's server from the other.
Is the Left 4 Dead dedicated server still available?
Yes. Valve still serves the Left 4 Dead Dedicated Server through SteamCMD with an anonymous login, on Windows and Linux. You need the game to play, not to run the server.
How many players does a Left 4 Dead server support?
Four survivors in Campaign and Survival, and four against four in Versus, so 8 players is the normal maximum. That cap comes from the game, not from us: GameTeam never charges per slot.
Which game modes can I run?
Campaign (co-op), Versus and Survival, plus Team Versus. Scavenge, Realism and mutations were added in Left 4 Dead 2, so they aren't on the original's server. Pick a mode with the map command, for example map l4d_vs_hospital01_apartment versus.
Why can't my friends connect to my Left 4 Dead server by IP?
Usually sv_allow_lobby_connect_only. Its default of 1 only lets players in through a matchmaking lobby, so a typed connect is refused. Set it to 0 in server.cfg.
How do I make the server private?
Set sv_password, or tie the server to your Steam group with sv_steamgroup and sv_steamgroup_exclusive 1. With the second option only members can start a game on it while it's empty.
How much does a Left 4 Dead server cost?
You pay for RAM, not seats: $0.49/GB a week on Budget or $1.99/GB billed monthly. The 2 GB that Left 4 Dead needs is $0.98 a week, with DDoS protection and the AI copilot included and a 72-hour money-back window.
Run it yourself — or let the copilot.
Same server, any game.
Back to Mercy Hospital, on your own server.
Deploy it, tell the copilot Campaign or Versus, and send the other three the address.
Deploy your Left 4 Dead server