Assetto Corsa vs Assetto Corsa EVO: What You Can Host

If you want to run your own racing server today, the original Assetto Corsa gives you far more to work with: the Kunos dedicated server for race weekends, AssettoServer for freeroam with AI traffic, and modded cars and tracks online. Assetto Corsa EVO has had a self-hosted dedicated server since update 0.6 in April 2026, and since update 0.8 in July its servers can run community-made cars, though not custom tracks; update 0.10 with the first part of the Eifel Free Roam is due on 9 December 2026.

We host the original Assetto Corsa, not EVO, so this post is written from the server owner's side. Everything below was checked on 25 October 2026 on Steam, Kunos's own channels and the sites linked in each section.

The two games side by side

Player numbers are 30 day averages from SteamCharts for Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa EVO. Prices are from the Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa EVO store pages. For a public server that difference matters: the original still has more than eleven times as many people playing.

What you can host for the original Assetto Corsa

The Kunos dedicated server

The server comes with the game: acServer.exe and acServerManager.exe sit in the server folder of your install, and it is also on Steam as a separate tool, Assetto Corsa Dedicated Server. The Kunos manual covers what it does:

• Practice, qualifying and race sessions, in pickup mode. Kunos warns that booking mode "is not fully supported".
• A grid as large as the track has pits: MAX_CLIENTS can be at most the number of pits on the layout.
• Race tools for leagues: mandatory pit windows, reversed grid races, fixed setups, and ballast and restrictor commands per car.
• Admin commands in the chat after /admin with your admin password, a blacklist file for banned Steam IDs, and voting for session changes.
• Ports: TCP and UDP 9600 for the game and 8081 for HTTP by default.

AssettoServer

AssettoServer is a community server "developed with freeroam in mind". It adds AI traffic, dynamic weather together with CSP, Steam authentication and plugins, and runs on Windows and Linux. It is open source under the AGPL v3. The current stable documentation (0.0.54) says to use it only for "a practice-only freeroam server"; the documentation for the next version calls race and qualifying sessions experimental. Our posts on the official server vs AssettoServer, AI traffic and No Hesi style traffic servers go deeper.

Mods

Any car or track mod can go on a server as long as every driver installs exactly the same version, because the server checks the car and track data of everyone who joins. How to set that up, and where to get mods without pirating them: Assetto Corsa mods on a server.

What you can host for Assetto Corsa EVO

EVO's online play has grown in steps:

• Multiplayer since 0.3 (25 September 2025). The 0.3 notes introduced free public servers that anyone can join at no cost, with up to 16 players per race at first and the promise of more slots once sessions were stable.
• An official rental service. Kunos's 0.6 notes name a platform "for browser-based server rental with worldwide availability" alongside the Daily Racing Portal, Kunos's ranked online mode.
• Self-hosting since 0.6 (15 April 2026). The same notes announce "the dedicated game server executable via Steam Tools", so you can "create and host" your own servers "using essential configuration features".
• Community cars online since 0.8 (9 July 2026). Update 0.7 (3 June 2026) brought an official SDK that makes custom vehicles for "single-player racing" (0.7 notes). The 0.8 notes took those cars online: "the server launcher now supports modded car content", with a SHA check that "rejects modified cars or incorrect mod versions before they reach the grid".
• Pit windows since 0.9 (26 August 2026). Timed online races over twenty minutes can have mandatory pit stops, with "a configurable pit window set by the server administrator" (store page).

So an EVO server can run modded cars today, and like the original it needs every driver on exactly the same version. None of the update notes mention custom tracks, so the track list is still Kunos's own.

What changes on 9 December

Update 0.10 brings the first part of Free Roam: a 1:1 recreation of part of Germany's Eifel region around the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The official Steam announcement of 16 October revealed the date in its video, and the Kunos and 505 Games press release of the same day puts it in writing: 9 December 2026. The release lists dynamic weather, day and night, AI road traffic and Time Attack events in the open world.

Kunos's Free Roam reveal says Free Roam "can be enjoyed solo or in multiplayer". Neither text says how a Free Roam multiplayer session is hosted, or whether the self-hosted server runs it on day one, so read the 0.10 notes before you plan a server around it.

No 1.0 date appears on the store page or in the update notes. The 0.9 notes only say that 0.9 "will not mark the final release of the Early Access Program" and that Free Roam "will be part of Assetto Corsa EVO during Early Access".

Which one to run a server for

Pick the original Assetto Corsa if you want:

• custom tracks, such as a drift or touge map, on top of modded cars;
• a traffic or cruise server with AI cars on the road;
• the larger player base: about 9,300 players on average against about 800 for EVO.

Pick Assetto Corsa EVO if your group wants Kunos's newer simulator on its official tracks, with official or SDK-made cars, and you are happy with Kunos's free public servers, the Daily Racing Portal or one of the two server routes above.

Assetto Corsa Competizione is a third game with its own server software. We host neither EVO nor Competizione: our Assetto Corsa hosting runs the original game, from €1.99 a month for 1GB in Europe (prices include VAT; USA plans add €0.10 per GB), with full file access over SFTP for your mods.

FAQ

Can I host my own Assetto Corsa EVO server?

Yes. Since update 0.6 (15 April 2026) Kunos ships the server executable through Steam Tools, and the same update notes point to an official browser-based rental service.

Can Assetto Corsa EVO servers run mods?

Cars, yes. Since update 0.8 (9 July 2026) the server launcher accepts cars made with Kunos's SDK and rejects modified cars or the wrong mod version. None of the update notes mention custom tracks.

When does Assetto Corsa EVO Free Roam come out?

On 9 December 2026, with update 0.10, according to the 505 Games and Kunos announcement of 16 October 2026.

Does Space-Node host Assetto Corsa EVO?

No. We host the original Assetto Corsa only.