Free Tier Terms

Revelation Hosting offers free game servers so players can try our platform and enjoy gaming with friends at no cost. Free servers run on the same platform as our paid servers — each is its own dedicated VM, just sized smaller and backed by our slower-class iSCSI storage pool. Orchestration, DDoS mitigation, and the dashboard you use are identical to the paid tiers; the free tier earns its "free" through a smaller resource allocation, not a lesser platform. To keep this sustainable, free servers are subject to the following terms in addition to our general Terms of Service.

The Core Principle

If you're actually playing on your free server, we'll keep the lights on for you. Free servers exist for people who want to play — not to sit idle consuming resources that could go to someone who would use them. We monitor player activity through server telemetry, and as long as your server shows real usage, it stays online.

Activity Requirements

Free servers are monitored for player activity. Our system periodically checks your server for active player connections. The thresholds below determine whether a server is considered active or idle:

New Servers (First 48 Hours)

We understand that newly created servers need time to be set up and shared with friends. However, if a free server shows zero player activity within the first 48 hours after deployment, it will be flagged for removal. We will send you a warning email before taking action when possible.

Established Servers (7+ Days Old)

Once your server has been running for at least 7 days, we begin periodic activity checks. The bar is low: your server needs to show roughly 1 hour of actual player activity per week. That means at least one person connected and playing — not just the server process running empty. If you and your friends hop on for even a short session each week, you're well within the threshold.

If your server falls below the activity threshold:

• Warning: You will receive an email notifying you that your server is at risk of removal due to inactivity.
• Removal: If activity does not resume within a reasonable period after the warning, the server and its associated data (world saves, backups, configurations) will be permanently deleted.

Games Without Automated Telemetry

Some games do not support the network protocols we use to automatically check player counts. Free servers for these games are not subject to automated activity-based cleanup since we have no way to programmatically determine whether they are being used. Instead, these servers are reviewed manually on a periodic basis. If we determine that a server for one of these games is not being actively used, we may reach out to you before taking any action.

The availability of automated telemetry varies by game and may change over time as games update their networking systems. All other terms on this page (capacity management, maintenance, abuse policies) still apply to these servers.

Server Limits

• You may have one free server per game title at a time. If you want multiple servers for the same game, additional servers require a paid plan.
• Free servers are allocated a limited amount of RAM and resources as defined by the free tier for each game. Resource allocations vary by game title.
• A verified email address is required before your free server will begin building. Confirmation links expire after 24 hours.

Our Right to Remove or Suspend Free Tier Servers

We reserve the right to suspend or delete free servers at any time, for any reason, including but not limited to:

• Inactivity: As described in the Activity Requirements above.
• Capacity management: If we need to reclaim resources to serve paying customers or to accommodate infrastructure changes, free servers may be removed to make room.
• Maintenance: Free servers may be temporarily shut down or permanently removed during infrastructure maintenance, hardware migrations, or platform updates.
• Abuse or policy violations: Violation of our Terms of Service, including the Acceptable Use policy.
• Platform sustainability: We may adjust the availability of free servers, reduce resource allocations, or modify activity thresholds at any time to ensure the long-term sustainability of the free tier.

When possible, we will provide advance notice before removing a free server. However, in cases involving abuse, urgent capacity needs, or emergency maintenance, removal may occur without prior notice.

No Guaranteed Uptime or Data Retention

Free servers are provided as-is with no service level guarantees. Specifically:

• There is no uptime commitment for free servers. Paid servers receive priority during outages and capacity constraints.
• While we provide automated backup functionality, we do not guarantee the retention or recoverability of free server data. If your server is removed, all associated data (world saves, configurations, backups) is permanently deleted.
• Free servers may experience longer queue times during periods of high demand.

Upgrading to a Paid Plan

The best way to ensure your server stays online and your data is preserved is to upgrade to a paid plan. Paid servers are not subject to activity-based cleanup and receive guaranteed resource allocations, priority support, and full data retention for the life of the subscription. You can upgrade at any time from the Hosting Dashboard.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Free Tier Terms at any time. Changes will be reflected on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Continued use of a free server after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

Questions?