Host a The Forest server for your friends
The Forest is on our roadmap, not in the launch catalog yet. Votes from the waitlist decide how fast it ships.
Host a The Forest server free- RAM
- 4-6 GB
- Default server ports
- 8766, 27015-27016
- Protocol
- UDP
- Server OS
- Windows (Wine OK)
- Typical group
- 2-8 friends
You never forward any of these. The agent connects outward to our relay; the game's ports stay on your machine.
Why host The Forest with Multiplayer Rally
The predecessor to Sons of the Forest, still pulling steady co-op demand years on. A familiar, well-documented dedicated server that every host carries.
- Mid-weight server: The Forest wants 4-6 GB of free RAM. A normal gaming PC handles it; the app checks before installing.
- The Forest uses several server ports, the classic spot people get stuck setting up by hand. We set every one of them for you.
- Runs the official The Forest server on Windows (Wine OK). We download it from the publisher and keep the runtime patched.
- Your The Forest world stays set up between sessions. The app handles restarts, updates, and the relay link so the squad can drop in whenever you're online.
How hosting The Forest works
- Step 01
Install Multiplayer Rally
One Windows app. It installs and manages the The Forest dedicated server for you. No command line, no config files.
- Step 02
Pick The Forest
We set the ports, the settings, and the restart schedule. You pick the world name and who's allowed in.
- Step 03
Share your link
You get one address your friends paste into the game, and they're in. Nothing to install on their side, no port forwarding on yours.
The Forest hosting questions
Plan on 4-6 GB of free RAM for a friend-group server. Your PC needs that on top of whatever else it's running; the app checks before installing.
8766, 27015-27016 (UDP). With Multiplayer Rally you don't forward any of them: the agent makes an outbound connection to our relay, and your friends connect to the relay address.
Yes, that's the whole point. The agent on your PC makes an outbound connection to our relay, so you never touch your router. Your friends connect to the relay address and the traffic is tunneled to your The Forest server. Nothing is exposed to the open internet.
Yes. Each player needs their own copy of The Forest to join your server. We host the server side; the game itself comes from the store like always.
The Forest is on the roadmap behind the launch catalog. Joining the waitlist and naming it is a vote: demand decides the order we ship recipes.
Your PC is the server, so the world is offline until you turn it back on, then it's right where you left it. The agent restarts The Forest for you automatically. An always-on managed tier on our hardware comes later.