Short answer: A Palworld dedicated server is generally limited to 32 concurrent players. The value is controlled by ServerPlayerMaxNum in PalWorldSettings.ini or by the -players launch option, with a documented range of 1 to 32 in the third-party configuration guides currently available. A world hosted directly from the game’s co-op menu is different: it supports four players total.
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The number you see when you first install a server may be lower because guides and sample files disagree about the starting value. Treat 32 as the ceiling, not as a guaranteed default. Check your own configuration file before inviting a group.
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Palworld player limits at a glance
| Server type | Maximum or stated limit | How the limit is controlled | Confidence and qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dedicated server | 32 concurrent players | ServerPlayerMaxNum in PalWorldSettings.ini, or the -players launch option |
32 is consistently reported by third-party hosting guides; an official Pocketpair statement was not located |
| Game-menu co-op host | 4 players total | Built into the peer-to-peer session type | It is not a dedicated server and does not use the dedicated-server slot setting |
| Cross-platform dedicated play | One shared pool of up to 32 slots | No separate quota for each platform | Reported by third-party guides; crossplay allocation is less firmly documented |
“Concurrent” means connected at the same time. It does not mean the number of characters or accounts that may exist in the world over its lifetime. A server can have more people who play at different times, provided no more than the configured number are connected simultaneously.
Dedicated server versus ordinary co-op
Dedicated servers
A dedicated server runs separately from an individual player’s game session. It is the option intended for a persistent community world: the server process can remain online while the usual host is away, and everyone connects to the same saved world. Its reported ceiling is 32 simultaneous connections.
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The ceiling applies to the server as a whole. It is not 32 players per operating system, region, or platform. Raising the setting does not create additional pools; it only changes how many connection slots the one server advertises and accepts.
Co-op hosted from the game menu
When someone selects a multiplayer world and hosts from the game client, the session is peer-to-peer rather than a dedicated server. That mode is capped at four players total. Editing a dedicated-server configuration file will not turn a four-person co-op session into a larger server.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThis distinction explains many apparently contradictory answers to “how many players can join a Palworld server?” Before changing a setting, identify whether you are launching a dedicated server application or simply inviting friends from the game menu.
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Why different guides show different defaults
The maximum and the starting value are separate questions. Third-party guides describe an initial value of about four, while sample PalWorldSettings.ini files found elsewhere show 8, 16, or 20. Those examples are not proof that every installation uses the same default; they may reflect different server packages, host templates, or edits made by an administrator.
Do not overwrite your file based on a number copied from a tutorial. Open the configuration used by your own server and find ServerPlayerMaxNum. If the key is absent, use the template supplied with that server installation rather than inventing a new settings structure. The relevant value in your file is more reliable than a generic claim about a “default.”
How the player-count setting works
ServerPlayerMaxNum
ServerPlayerMaxNum is the configuration key that determines the maximum simultaneous player count on a dedicated server. The third-party configuration references describe a valid range of 1 through 32. Values above 32 are therefore outside the reported supported range, even if a control panel lets you type a larger number.
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The setting is stored in the server’s OptionSettings=(...) entry. In the supplied configuration format, that is one long line rather than a series of ordinary INI key-value lines. A missing comma, quotation mark, or parenthesis can make the server ignore settings or fail to load them, so edit the existing entry carefully.
The -players launch option
Some server managers expose a -players launch argument instead of asking you to edit the file. Use the manager’s field for that argument and enter a value within the same 1-to-32 range. Because hosting panels differ, follow the panel’s own syntax and confirm which value is active after restarting. Do not assume that changing a panel field also rewrites PalWorldSettings.ini; some panels generate configuration at startup.
How to increase a dedicated server’s player count
Make the change while the server is offline. Configuration edits made while the process is running can be discarded when the server shuts down or restarts.
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- Stop the server cleanly. Use the stop control in your host panel or terminate the dedicated-server process, then wait until it is fully stopped.
- Open the server configuration directory. On Linux, the path is
Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini. On Windows, it isPal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/PalWorldSettings.ini. - Make a backup. Copy the current
PalWorldSettings.inisomewhere outside the configuration directory. This gives you a known-good file to restore if a syntax edit goes wrong. - Use the supplied template. If
PalWorldSettings.iniis missing or empty, copy the settings fromDefaultPalWorldSettings.iniinto it. Editing only the default file is reported to have no effect on the running server. - Find the player key. Within the single
OptionSettings=(...)line, locateServerPlayerMaxNum. - Replace only its value. Change the number to the desired count, such as 8, 16, 24, or 32. Keep the surrounding punctuation and every other option unchanged.
- Save the file and restart. Start the dedicated server only after the file has been saved. A restart is required for the process to read the new value.
- Check the effective setting. Inspect the server panel or connection screen after startup and have a second player connect. If the advertised capacity did not change, stop the server again and check that you edited the active installation’s path rather than a backup or a different operating-system folder.
Set the value no higher than 32. If your host provides both a configuration editor and a -players argument, check both places for conflicting values; a panel may apply its launch arguments each time it starts the process.
Choosing a sensible capacity
The largest legal slot count is not automatically the best operating target. Every connected player creates simulation, networking, and persistence work. The actual experience also depends on the server’s hardware, world activity, mods, network conditions, and what players are doing simultaneously.
| Group size | Practical configuration approach | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | Use a four-slot co-op session if a persistent dedicated world is unnecessary; otherwise set a dedicated server to the number of regular players | A dedicated process may be unnecessary for a small, occasional group |
| 5–16 | Set the dedicated-server value to the number of people who may actually connect at once, with a small reserve for guests | A lower cap makes accidental overcrowding less likely |
| 17–24 | Use a dedicated server and watch frame pacing, save behavior, and server logs during busy events | This is where workload can become more noticeable, even though the configuration still permits more slots |
| 25–32 | Treat the setting as a hard admission ceiling, not a performance promise; test it with your real group before advertising all slots | The maximum is a capacity limit, not a published hardware requirement |
One hosting vendor claims that stutters can begin above roughly 24 concurrently active players. That is a single commercial claim, not an independently verified benchmark or a universal Palworld limit. Use it as a reason to test your own workload, not as a guarantee that 24 is safe or that 25 will fail.
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Crossplay and platform allocation
Third-party guides describe cross-platform dedicated play as one shared pool of up to 32 slots. In that model, a PC player does not consume a slot from a separate PC allowance while a console player uses another allowance; all connected platforms count against the same server total. No per-platform allocation has been established in the available documentation, and the crossplay detail is less certain than the 32-slot ceiling itself.
If a mixed-platform group cannot fill the expected number of slots, first verify that everyone is using the same server address, game version, and crossplay-compatible session type. Changing ServerPlayerMaxNum will not resolve a platform-compatibility or connection problem.
Troubleshooting a server that will not accept more players
The server still shows the old number
- Confirm the process was stopped before editing and restarted afterward.
- Check that the file is under the active
LinuxServerorWindowsServerdirectory, not under a downloaded template or backup. - Verify that
ServerPlayerMaxNumappears inside the activeOptionSettings=(...)line. - Look for a hosting-panel
-playersargument that is applied at every launch.
The server ignores the entire configuration
- Restore the backup and compare the edited line with
DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini. - Check for a damaged parenthesis, quotation mark, comma, or line break in
OptionSettings=(...). - Do not edit only
DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini; the running server readsPalWorldSettings.ini.
A value above 32 is rejected
That behavior is consistent with the reported 1-to-32 range. There is no confirmed configuration-supported way to raise the dedicated-server ceiling beyond 32, so changing hardware or a launch flag cannot be treated as an enlargement of the game’s documented slot range.
Changes disappear after a restart
This usually indicates that the server was edited while still running, that a panel regenerated the file, or that the wrong installation directory was changed. Stop the process, make the edit in the active path, and inspect the file again after the next startup to see whether a manager rewrote it.
What is confirmed and what may change
The 32-player ceiling, the four-player co-op limit, and the configuration names above come from third-party hosting guides and sample configurations. Pocketpair’s official documentation for this setting was not located, so these figures should be checked against Pocketpair’s configuration-parameter page whenever it is available.
No confirmed evidence shows that a 2026 patch changed the dedicated-server ceiling. Until Pocketpair publishes a different limit or the server’s own configuration exposes a new supported range, plan around the current 32-slot maximum and verify the value in your installation.
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