Space Engineers is Keen Software House's sandbox about engineering, construction and survival in space and on planets. It entered early access in 2013, was fully released in 2019 and later came to consoles. Everything you use is something you built block by block - ships, stations, rovers, drilling rigs - and everything obeys physics, so a badly balanced ship drifts and a well-aimed missile tears a hole straight through a hull.

Its successor, Space Engineers 2, entered early access in January 2025, but multiplayer was still on its roadmap through 2026, so the community server scene lives in the original game. Those servers vary enormously in settings, limits and rules, and the right one depends on whether you want to build in peace or fight over every asteroid.

Build It, Fly It, Break It

In survival you start with little more than a suit and a starter ship. You mine ore, refine it, assemble components and turn them into everything else: drills, welders, reactors, thrusters, oxygen and hydrogen systems. Planets add gravity, atmosphere and weather, while asteroids and stations in open space offer resources and danger in equal measure.

Factions let players group up and share what they build, NPC trade stations and an in-game economy give a reason to haul cargo, and programmable blocks run in-game scripts that automate anything from mining to turret control. In PvP, every one of those systems becomes a weapon or a target.

What to Look For in a Space Engineers Server

Survival Settings and Rates

Servers list their multipliers for inventory size, refinery speed, assembler speed and welding. A server with boosted rates gets you to large ships in hours instead of days; one close to default makes every component count. Check whether you start on a planet or in space, since that sets the difficulty of the first hours.

PCU, Block Limits and Cleanup

Most servers cap how much each player or faction can build, usually through PCU limits and block counts, to keep the server running. Find out what the limits are and how cleanup works: many servers delete unowned, unpowered or abandoned grids automatically. Knowing the rules saves you from logging in to find your ship gone.

Sim Speed and Performance

Sim speed shows how fast the server runs compared to real time, and anything well below full speed makes flying, docking and combat feel sluggish. Big grids, many scripts and heavy mods all pull it down. A server that keeps sim speed high when it is busy is worth more than a bigger one that crawls.

PvP, PvE and Factions

PvE servers let you build and explore without being attacked. PvP servers range from open warfare to setups with safe zones, scheduled combat or rules against attacking offline factions. Check faction size limits too, since large factions dominate open PvP maps.

Mods, Plugins and Admins

Many servers run Workshop mods for new blocks, weapons and quality-of-life features, and server plugins for economies, events and cleanup. Look at the mod list and its size before joining. Then check for admins who answer on Discord, publish their rules and restore grids lost to bugs.

Getting Started

Pick PvE or PvP first, then a rate level that fits your time, then read the block limits and cleanup rules before your first big build. Join the Discord, ask where new players usually start, and keep your first ship small and cheap until you know the server. The ranking below lists the Space Engineers servers players vote for here. Vote for the server you build on - rankings start again every month, so the list follows where engineers are active now.