By default, we keep your game server automatically up to date. For most games, that is exactly right, because an outdated server is often simply unreachable for players with a current client. But there are good reasons to control updates yourself for a while. That is exactly what the "Automatic Updates" toggle in your server panel is for.

What Automatic Updates Mean With Us

Depending on the game, the automation works differently:

  • Steam games (e.g. Rust, Palworld, Valheim, Satisfactory, ARK, V Rising, DayZ): The server checks on every start or restart whether a new version is available and installs it before booting. If the server keeps running continuously, nothing happens until the next restart.
  • Counter-Strike 2 and Minecraft Bedrock: Here, our fleet automation also keeps the server up to date, even without you restarting it. It updates only when nobody is currently online, and for Bedrock it automatically creates a backup beforehand. Your worlds and configuration files are preserved.
  • Minecraft Java and PocketMine: Here, there is deliberately no automatic update. Your version stays fixed until you change it yourself via the version switcher in the panel, so plugins, mods, and worlds remain compatible.

When It Makes Sense to Disable Updates

  • Rust and the force wipe: Rust enforces a wipe with major monthly updates. If you want to wipe your server only on the weekend, for example, you can temporarily turn off updates so that an interim restart does not already pull the new version beforehand. Note: After the official force wipe update, players with the current client can only join again once your server has been updated as well.
  • Mods and plugins: After a game update, mod frameworks (such as Oxide/Carbon for Rust or Workshop mods for other titles) often need a few hours to a few days for their adjustments. If you play heavily modded, wait with the update until the most important mods have caught up.
  • Events, tournaments, speedruns: If a fixed version is required, the toggle prevents a restart in the middle of the event from changing the version.

The Risk of an Outdated Server

For games with forced client updates, especially Minecraft Bedrock (mobile, console, Windows Store) and Counter-Strike 2, your players' clients update automatically. A server on the old version then looks "broken": Joining fails with a version error message. Security fixes and bug fixes also only reach your server with the update. Our recommendation: Leave automatic updates enabled, unless you have one of the concrete reasons mentioned above, and enable them again afterward.

How to Turn Automatic Updates Off or On

You can find the toggle in your server panel under Settings → General. It only appears for games where there is actually something to control. For Steam games, the change takes effect from the next restart; for CS2 and Bedrock, it pauses or reactivates our fleet automation immediately. To catch up after disabling it, simply turn the toggle back on and restart the server once.

What You Should Do Before Disabling It

Turning off the automation toggle is not a replacement for a backup. Save your current state before taking control, especially if you later apply the update manually and switch to a build that your mods do not know yet. How to create and restore a backup is explained in the Server Backup guide; the process is the same for other games.

Also note why you disabled it and set yourself a reminder. The most common mistake is not turning it off itself, but forgetting about it: months later, players wonder about a server that no longer lets anyone in, and nobody remembers the toggle.

After Re-Enabling It

The update happens on the next start. After that, check two things: whether the server reports the expected version and whether your mods and plugins still load. Mod frameworks like Oxide/uMod regularly lag behind major game updates. After a longer update stop, the server may catch up across several version jumps at once. For CS2, this affects the entire plugin stack; how to get it running again after an update is covered under Install CS2 Plugins.

FAQ

Which games have the toggle?

All games whose server updates can actually be controlled, including Rust, CS2, Minecraft Bedrock, Palworld, Valheim, Satisfactory, ARK, DayZ, Team Fortress 2, and many other Steam titles. Minecraft Java and PocketMine deliberately do not have it: there, you switch versions intentionally via the version switcher.

Will I lose data if the server is updated automatically?

No. Updates only replace the server software. Saves, worlds, and configuration files are preserved; for Minecraft Bedrock, our automation additionally creates a backup before every update, and updates are always only performed when nobody is online.

Why don't I see the toggle on my Minecraft Java server?

Because Minecraft Java always runs version-pinned with us by default. An unwanted update could break plugins and worlds. You intentionally change your version yourself via the version switcher in the panel.

What happens if my server is outdated for too long?

For games with forced client updates (Bedrock, CS2), current clients can no longer join until the server catches up. Re-enable the toggle, restart the server, and after that the server is back on the current version and reachable.