{"id":23189,"date":"2026-07-17T21:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/how-to-set-up-a-ground-branch-dedicated-server\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:00:25","slug":"how-to-set-up-a-ground-branch-dedicated-server","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/how-to-set-up-a-ground-branch-dedicated-server\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up a GROUND BRANCH Dedicated Server (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Want to run your own <strong>GROUND BRANCH<\/strong> server so your squad can play co-op and PvP anytime \u2014 no host PC required? With V1.0 live (July 16, 2026), now&#8217;s the time. This guide covers both ways to do it: the manual Windows\/SteamCMD route, and the managed one-click route.<\/p>\n<h2>What you need to know first<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The GROUND BRANCH dedicated server is <strong>officially Windows-only<\/strong> (there&#8217;s no official Linux binary).<\/li>\n<li>It runs <strong>headless<\/strong> \u2014 no GPU or monitor needed \u2014 and is <strong>free<\/strong> to run (you don&#8217;t need a game copy on the server itself).<\/li>\n<li>You configure it through plain-text files: <code>Server.ini<\/code>, <code>Admin.ini<\/code> and <code>MapList.ini<\/code>.<\/li>\n<li>Default ports are <strong>7777\/UDP<\/strong> (game) and <strong>27015\/UDP<\/strong> (query) \u2014 these must be open\/forwarded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Option A \u2014 Manual setup on a Windows server (SteamCMD)<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Install SteamCMD<\/strong> on your Windows machine\/VPS.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Download the server files<\/strong> with the GROUND BRANCH dedicated server app ID:\n<pre><code>login anonymous\nforce_install_dir C:\\gbserver\napp_update 476400 validate\nquit<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Launch the server<\/strong> \u2014 run <code>DedicatedServer.bat<\/code> (or the <code>GroundBranchServer<\/code> executable) from the install folder to generate the config files on first boot.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Open your ports<\/strong> \u2014 forward <strong>7777\/UDP<\/strong> and <strong>27015\/UDP<\/strong> in your firewall\/router so players can find and join.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Edit your config<\/strong> \u2014 set your server name, player limit and starting map\/mission in <code>Server.ini<\/code> and <code>MapList.ini<\/code>, and add admin Steam IDs to <code>Admin.ini<\/code>. See our <a href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/ground-branch-server-settings-guide\/\">server settings guide<\/a> for every option.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The manual route works, but you&#8217;re responsible for the Windows box, updates, port forwarding, DDoS exposure and uptime.<\/p>\n<h2>Option B \u2014 Managed hosting (one-click)<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;d rather skip SteamCMD, port forwarding and hand-editing INIs, a managed host handles all of it. <a href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/ground-branch-server-hosting\">XGamingServer&#8217;s GROUND BRANCH server hosting<\/a> gives you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Instant setup<\/strong> \u2014 your server is provisioned automatically the moment payment clears; no <code>app_update 476400<\/code> by hand.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AMD Ryzen 9 7950X hardware<\/strong>, DDR5 RAM and NVMe storage for smooth 8v8 PvP and heavy Terrorist Hunt AI counts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A visual config panel<\/strong> for maps, missions, AI count, difficulty and player slots \u2014 no INI editing required.<\/li>\n<li><strong>One-click updates<\/strong>, DDoS protection and low-latency locations worldwide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>After setup: configure and connect<\/h2>\n<p>Once your server is up, set your map rotation and modes (see <a href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/docs\/ground-branch\/change-map\">change map &amp; mission<\/a>), add your admins (<a href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/docs\/ground-branch\/adding-admins\">adding admins<\/a>), and share your IP so your squad can <a href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/docs\/ground-branch\/connect-to-your-server\">connect<\/a>. Then jump into co-op Terrorist Hunt, the new <a href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/ground-branch-extraction-mode-guide-v1-0-hostage-rescue-explained\/\">Extraction mode<\/a>, or 8v8 PvP.<\/p>\n<h3>Read more<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/ground-branch-server-settings-guide\/\">GROUND BRANCH Server Settings Guide<\/a> \u2014 Server.ini, MapList &amp; admins<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/ground-branch-game-modes-explained\/\">GROUND BRANCH Game Modes Explained<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/ground-branch-1-0-whats-new-server-hosting\/\">GROUND BRANCH 1.0: Everything New<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want to run your own GROUND BRANCH server so your squad can play co-op and PvP anytime \u2014 no host PC required? With V1.0 live (July 16, 2026), now&#8217;s the time. This guide covers both ways to do it: the manual Windows\/SteamCMD route, and the managed one-click route. What you need to know first The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":23190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[149],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ground-branch"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.5 (Yoast SEO v26.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Set Up a GROUND BRANCH Dedicated Server (2026) - XGamingServer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/how-to-set-up-a-ground-branch-dedicated-server\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Set Up a GROUND BRANCH Dedicated Server (2026)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Want to run your own GROUND BRANCH server so your squad can play co-op and PvP anytime \u2014 no host PC required? 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