VEIN is a post-apocalyptic zombie-survival sandbox from Ramjet Studios that launched in Steam Early Access on October 24, 2025. It supports single-player, online co-op, and online PvP — and, importantly for anyone wanting a persistent world, it ships official dedicated server support. This guide walks through installing and configuring a Vein dedicated server using only verified facts. Because VEIN is an obscure, fast-moving Early Access title, some details are community-reported rather than official, and a couple of sources conflict. Where that happens, this guide flags it honestly so you can verify against your own build instead of trusting guesswork.
If you would rather skip the manual setup entirely, a managed Vein server hosting plan handles the install, ports, and config for you. For the manual route, read on.
Two different Steam App IDs (don’t mix them up)
This trips up a lot of first-time hosts. The VEIN game has Steam App ID 1857950. The dedicated server is a separate Steam app with its own ID: 2131400. You install the server with the dedicated-server ID, not the game ID.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Game App ID | 1857950 |
| Dedicated Server App ID | 2131400 |
| Developer / Publisher | Ramjet Studios |
| Early Access launch | October 24, 2025 |
One more name-collision warning: VEIN is not Code Vein (the Bandai Namco anime ARPG). Some cheat-aggregator sites blur the two — ignore those for VEIN server info.
Install the server with SteamCMD
The dedicated server installs through SteamCMD with anonymous login — no Steam account required. Use App ID 2131400:
steamcmd +force_install_dir +login anonymous +app_update 2131400 validate +quit Replace validate flag verifies the files after download, which is worth keeping for an Early Access build that updates frequently.
The server executable (name conflict — verify against your build)
There is a genuine inconsistency in the reported Windows executable name, so check what your install actually contains rather than assuming:
- Windows: The official wiki names the binary
VeinServer-Win64-Test.exe. Several hosts and community sources instead report it asVeinServer.exe(with aVeinConsole.exevariant). The “-Win64-Test” form is likely an older build name. Verify against the files in your install folder. - Linux: Supported (Ubuntu 20.04+). The launch script is reported as
VeinServer.sh. Note that the official wiki page is Windows-centric and does not list the Linux filename, so the.shname is community/host-sourced.
Ports: 7777 game / 7778 query (and the 27015 conflict)
This is the single biggest unresolved conflict in VEIN server documentation, so here are both sides plainly:
- Official wiki: game port UDP 7777, query port UDP 7778, with the rule “always +2 of the game port.” This is the official answer — follow it.
- Some hosts/community sources: report the Steam query port as 27015 via a config key
GameServerQueryPort=(default 27015).
Use 7777 game / 7778 query per the official wiki. If your host’s control panel exposes a GameServerQueryPort field that defaults to 27015, that reflects the alternate convention — match whatever your panel and your build agree on, and open the corresponding UDP ports in your firewall.
Configuration files: Game.ini and Engine.ini
VEIN uses two INI files. Game.ini holds the session settings, admins, and max players. Engine.ini holds gameplay console-variable overrides. They live in the platform-specific config folder:
Windows: ...\VEIN Dedicated Server\Vein\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\
Linux: .../Vein/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/A note on confidence: the official wiki page does not enumerate the config keys, so the section and key names below are host-sourced — but they are consistent across several independent host knowledge bases. Always sanity-check them against your current build.
[/Script/Engine.GameSession]
MaxPlayers=32
[/Script/Vein.VeinGameSession]
ServerName=My VEIN Server
Password=
AdminSteamIDs=
SuperAdminSteamIDs=ServerName=— the name shown in the browser.Password=— leave blank for an open server; set a value to require it on connect. (This is the connect password, not an admin login.)MaxPlayers=— set your player slots (see the next section).AdminSteamIDs=/SuperAdminSteamIDs=— the two admin tiers, keyed by SteamID64.- Additional networking keys reported by hosts include
bPublic,BindAddr,Port, andGameServerQueryPort.
Launch parameters (an alternative to editing config)
Instead of (or alongside) the config files, you can pass settings as launch arguments. The official wiki gives this example, with the caveat that additional arguments are “pending further testing”:
VeinServer-Win64-Test.exe -log -port=7777 -MaxPlayers=64 -QueryPort=7778Config-file editing is the more universally documented method, so if in doubt, prefer the INI files.
Max players: configurable, no confirmed hard cap
There is no officially documented hard player cap in VEIN. The value is configurable through MaxPlayers (or -MaxPlayers= on the command line). For context:
- The official wiki uses 64 as its example value (“replace 64 with your desired max player number”).
- The community-reported practical ceiling is around 32 players — this is single-source and unconfirmed, and may change per patch.
- For small co-op sessions, around 4–8 players is commonly recommended.
Treat max players as a range, not a fixed number: the wiki example is 64, community reports about 32 as a practical maximum. Set the value and test stability on your own hardware.
Admins are SteamID-based — there is no admin password
VEIN admin access is granted purely by identity. You add a player’s SteamID64 to Game.ini under [/Script/Vein.VeinGameSession], using either AdminSteamIDs= (admin) or SuperAdminSteamIDs= (super-admin). There is no separate admin password and no in-game admin-login command. The Password= field is only the server connect password, not admin authentication.
One caveat: the syntax for listing multiple admins is conflicting between hosts. One source says repeat the AdminSteamIDs= line for each admin; another says the first entry uses AdminSteamIDs= and additional entries use +AdminSteamIDs= (the standard Unreal array convention). This is unconfirmed — test it on a live server before relying on it. Once you are in, the in-game admin menu is covered in our companion Vein console commands and admin menu guide.
Applying changes: stop, edit, restart
VEIN does not hot-apply config changes. The reliable workflow is: stop the server → edit Game.ini / Engine.ini → restart. Alternatively, pass settings as launch arguments at startup, or change them live through the in-game admin menu / host panel. If an edit doesn’t seem to take effect, you almost certainly changed it while the server was running.
Server tuning with vein.* console variables
For deeper gameplay tuning, VEIN exposes a developer-grounded vein.* console-variable namespace — for example vein.Zombies.Health, vein.Zombies.SpeedMultiplier, vein.AISpawner.Hordes.ChancePerMinute, vein.Stats.XPMultiplier, and vein.PersistentCorpses. The developer maintains an authoritative “Console Variable List” on Notion. Exact default values change per patch, and that Notion page is JavaScript-rendered (not easily scraped), so visit it in a browser for the current authoritative list. For the full setup walkthrough with panel references, see the Vein server documentation.
Frequently asked questions
Which Steam App ID do I use to install the Vein server?
Use 2131400, the dedicated-server app, with SteamCMD and anonymous login. The game itself is App ID 1857950, but you do not install the server from the game ID.
What ports does a Vein dedicated server need?
The official wiki specifies game port UDP 7777 and query port UDP 7778 (“always +2 of the game port”). Some hosts report the query port as 27015 via a GameServerQueryPort key. Follow the official 7777/7778 unless your host panel uses the 27015 convention.
How many players can a Vein server hold?
There is no officially documented hard cap. You set the count with MaxPlayers. The wiki example uses 64; community reports suggest about 32 as a practical maximum, which may change per patch. About 4–8 is a comfortable co-op size.
Is there an admin password for Vein servers?
No. Admin access is purely SteamID-based via AdminSteamIDs= and SuperAdminSteamIDs= in Game.ini. The Password= field is only the connect password, not admin authentication.
Can I run the Vein server on Linux?
Yes — Linux is supported (Ubuntu 20.04+). The launch script is reported as VeinServer.sh, and the config path is under .../Vein/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/. Note the Linux filename is community/host-sourced rather than listed on the wiki.
Do config edits apply while the server is running?
No, changes are not hot-applied. Stop the server, edit Game.ini / Engine.ini, then restart. You can also use launch arguments at startup or the in-game admin menu for live changes.
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