Enshrouded 1.0 Server Update: Keep Your World or Start Fresh

Enshrouded 1.0 went live on 15 October 2026 with a new dedicated server build, so update your server first or 1.0 players will see it with a version mismatch. Old Early Access worlds still load and are converted to a new save format, but Keen Games strongly encourages starting over, and an existing save gets its skill tree reset the first time it is played in 1.0.

Below: what changed on the server side, the exact update steps, and how to choose between keeping your world and starting a new one. Keen's help center articles about the dedicated server were not edited for 1.0 (the newest edits are from November 2025), so the details here come from Keen's 1.0 changelog and launch FAQ on Steam, checked on release day.

What 1.0 changed for dedicated servers

A new server build on launch day

Steam's app data for the Enshrouded Dedicated Server Tool (app 2278520) shows build 25936466, uploaded on 14 October and set live on the public branch at 15:00 UTC on 15 October. That is within three minutes of the game's own 1.0 build. The changelog has no line that says servers need an update, but the server build did change, and since Patch #7 the in-game server list flags servers that run a different version with a version mismatch note. Treat the update as required.

The 1.0 server depot is about 8 GB on disk and a 3.6 GB download. Keen's server FAQ still says around 13 GB and recommends 30 GB of free space, but that text was written before 1.0.

Saves move to a new format

From the changelog: "Enshrouded now uses a new save data format which results in smaller save game files and a simpler data structure in the save data folder." When 1.0 first loads a save "created with version 0.8 or earlier", Keen writes that the existing save data is "firstly backed up and secondly automatically migrated to the new format."

Two things to keep in mind as a server owner. Keen describes that backup for the game, and has not documented whether the dedicated server makes the same backup before it converts a world. And the help center article on save file names describes the old layout, so do not count on those file names after the update. Copy the whole save folder yourself before the first 1.0 start.

Keen recommends starting over

The launch FAQ is clear about it: "You can absolutely use Early Access saves once the game releases in 1.0. Our save format is improving, so saves will be converted to a new, more efficient format. However, note that we have made many improvements to the world and first few hours of the game, so if you're up for it, we strongly encourage you to start over!"

Skill tree reset

Also from the changelog: "When playing for the first time in version 1.0.0.0 with an existing save game, the skill tree will be reset. Please make sure to spend the skill points again!" Tell your players before they log in, so nobody thinks the server ate their build. Custom key bindings were reset to the defaults as well, but that is on each player's PC, not on the server.

Still 16 players, still enshrouded_server.json

The player cap did not move. Keen's configuration docs allow slotCount from 1 to 16, and nothing in the 1.0 changelog changes that. The server is still configured through enshrouded_server.json next to enshrouded_server.exe.

User groups and their passwords also stay. Players who host from inside the game now set one password and promote or demote people while playing, but the changelog says that on dedicated servers the user groups with their passwords work as before, and promoting or demoting is not possible while playing on the server. Our server settings guide still covers the groups and switches.

A few server-side fixes in the changelog are worth knowing: Keen "reduced the memory needed for server and client communication", the server performance warnings no longer trigger too soon, player movement responds better while the server is under heavy load, and gliding depends less on a slow server's tick rate.

What is new in the world settings

The changelog names four changes that touch the settings a server owner controls:

• Automatic enemy amount. Keen "added a new option called 'Automatic' to the server setting that controls the amount of enemies that spawn in each encounter." With it, the number of enemies scales with the party: every player actively playing nearby counts, players elsewhere in Embervale do not.
• Updraft charge duration is now a world setting, so groups that liked instant updrafts can set it that way.
• Pushing back the Shroud. Flame Altars can now push back the Shroud. By default that needs the final Flame level 11, but the required level can be lowered in the world settings.
• Enemy damage slider. Keen reworked the values behind the enemy damage slider in the server difficulty settings so they "better reflect the factual damage increase observed during combat."

Keen has not documented yet whether or how these show up in enshrouded_server.json. The newest default file in the help center is still labelled version 0.9.0.0. If you want to see exactly what your 1.0 server writes, let it generate a fresh file and compare:

1. Stop the server and copy enshrouded_server.json to a safe place, for example as enshrouded_server.pre-1.0.json.
2. Remove the original from the server folder. Keen's docs say that "when no enshrouded_server.json config file is found, then a fresh file is created" on the next start.
3. Start the server once, wait until it is up, then stop it.
4. Compare the new file with your old one. On Linux, diff does it; on Windows any editor with a compare view works.
5. Copy your own values back into the new file: server name, tags, user groups with their passwords, the preset and your gameSettings values. A fresh file comes with new random passwords, so either restore the old ones or hand out the new ones.

If you had changed saveDirectory, the fresh file points back at ./savegame, so fix that before anyone joins. The same method covers a problem Keen already warns about: older config files "can sometimes be incorrectly updated", and deleting the file so a fresh one is made is Keen's own advice for that case.

How to update your server to 1.0

1. Tell your players and stop the server. Do not update a running server.
2. Back up. Copy the save folder (./savegame unless you changed saveDirectory) and enshrouded_server.json to somewhere outside the server folder. Character saves are never stored on a dedicated server; they live on each player's PC, so there is nothing to back up for them on the server side.
3. Update the server files in one of the ways listed below these steps.
4. Start the server and read the console. Keen's server FAQ says a started server shows [Session] 'HostOnline' (up)! in the console and the log.
5. Join from a 1.0 client. In the server browser, turn on the "Show dedicated server" filter. If your server still shows a version mismatch, the update did not take.
6. Check the config with the fresh file method above if you want the new settings.
7. Remind players to spend their skill points again.

Ways to update the server files

• SteamCMD on Windows: steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\EnshroudedServer +login anonymous +app_update 2278520 validate +quit, with your own install folder in place of C:\EnshroudedServer.
• Steam client: owners of the game find the dedicated server under Tools in their Steam library, and Steam updates it like any other app. Keen advises starting the .exe directly rather than through Steam's Launch button.
• Linux: the server is still Windows only, so SteamCMD needs the Windows platform override. Our Linux guide has the full command.
• Rented server: use your host's update or reinstall option after you have made the backup.

If the server crashes right after the update on a Linux box running Proton with Video driver not supported in the log, that is a Proton problem and not 1.0 itself. See our fix for the Video driver not supported crash.

Keep the old world or start fresh?

First separate two things: the world and the characters. The world lives on the server. Characters live on each player's PC. So a new world does not force anyone to make a new character, and keeping the old world does not save anyone's skill tree, because that reset happens anyway.

Keep the old world if your group has big bases it cares about, you are deep into the story and want to carry on in the same world, or nobody wants to redo the early game. Conversion is Keen's supported path for old saves.

Start fresh if new players are joining for 1.0, your group mostly explored the early areas, or you want the game the way Keen now intends it. Keen made "many improvements to the world and first few hours of the game" and does not spell out how much of that reaches a converted world. Its advice is to start over if you are up for it.

You do not have to throw anything away to start fresh. On a dedicated server:

1. Stop the server.
2. Rename the old save folder, for example from savegame to savegame-early-access. Alternatively, leave it alone and set "saveDirectory": "./savegame-1.0" in enshrouded_server.json.
3. Start the server. With no save in its save folder, it creates a new world, just like on its very first start.

To go back, swap the folders again or point saveDirectory back at the old one. Keep in mind that 1.0 converts old saves to the new format when it loads them, so keep an untouched copy somewhere else too.

Running the old and the new world side by side means two server instances, each with its own folder and its own queryPort. The settings guide covers the port.

Hosting the 1.0 server with Space-Node

If you would rather rent the server than run it yourself, our Enshrouded server hosting runs on shared AMD Ryzen 9 CPUs (3900X-class in Europe, Canada and India, 7950X3D in the USA, 5950X in Singapore and Australia), with DDoS protection, in 9 regions. Keen puts the server process at about 4.4 GB of RAM when idle, which is more than our 4 GB Ember plan, so for 1.0 we suggest starting on Flame: 8 GB for €10.20 a month, up to 8 players. Beacon (12 GB, €15.80) goes up to the full 16 players, and Summit (16 GB, €20.50) and Ancient (24 GB, €30.90) are there if you want more headroom.

FAQ

Can PS5 players join my server? Keen's launch FAQ says Enshrouded "will not be cross-platform at launch". Keen is working on crossplay but has no estimate yet.

Does the 1.0 server need more RAM? Keen's figures are still the pre-1.0 ones: about 4.4 GB idle, up to 100 MB more per player, and no more than 6 GB in total. The 1.0 changelog mentions lower memory use for server and client communication, but Keen has not published new numbers.

Where are the character saves after 1.0? On each player's PC. Keen's changelog gives the new local folder on Windows as C:\Users\WINDOWSUSER\Saved Games\keen games\Enshrouded\default, and the character and world menus now have separate tabs for local and Steam Cloud saves.

Related guides: Enshrouded dedicated server setup guide | Every Enshrouded server setting explained | Enshrouded server on Linux with Proton or Wine | Fix: Video driver not supported