Yes, on your own server. Gaijin shut down Star Conflict's official servers on Oct. 9, 2026, at 10:00 GMT, a day earlier than first planned. A few hours later, the free Community Edition went up on Steam. It ships with the game client and the server software, so the last person keeping Star Conflict online is now you.
We covered the shutdown schedule earlier this week. This is the part after the lights went out.
How to play the Community Edition
The Steam page lists five steps, which we reproduce faithfully:
- Install Star Conflict via Steam.
- Launch the game's local server component.
- Launch the game client.
- Connect to the local server.
- Play.
According to the Community Edition overview, you can start the server with a button on the client's login screen or by running its databases and applications yourself. To join someone else's server, enter its address, port, and your username and password on the login screen. The PC requirements haven't changed: Windows 10, 6 GB of RAM, and 8.5 GB of disk space.
What you get
The developers promise "a full-fledged Star Conflict game server," with every game mode, matchmaking, in-game chat, corporations, achievements, tournaments, and the economy system. The Steam page adds one hedge: "the availability of certain features and game modes may differ from the original online version." That line usually earns its place.
Reader questions
Does my old account carry over? No. Each server has its own account database, and official progress "will not be automatically transferred." Server owners can unlock every ship, piece of equipment, and cosmetic item if they want, so 14 years of grinding is now one config file away.
What about stuff I paid for? Gaijin's shutdown notice says in-game items "are licensed, not sold, and cannot be transferred to unofficial servers." Monetization was turned off on June 1, 2026. No refunds were announced.
Are fan servers allowed? Yes, in writing. Gaijin's notice permits using the server files, modifying the game, and connecting to unofficial servers. There are two conditions. Nobody can charge money for a server, and any server using the Star Conflict name has to be labeled "Unofficial Server."
Is it safe? Gaijin says it doesn't run or vouch for these servers, and it gives one direct instruction: "Do not enter your Gaijin Account login data on unofficial servers." Use a new username and password for every server.
Is anyone playing? Steam showed 113 people in the game at 5:14 AM MST today. That's one snapshot from early on a Saturday, on day one of a self-hosted game.
The final tally
Targem Games, the studio behind it, posted the closing stats: more than 170 updates, 311 ships, 90 locations, over 4.3 million accounts, 97,717,550 battles, and 29,653,666 hours played. Targem works that out to more than 3,380 years of combined playtime. The game's own story says 3,000 years have passed since the first colonists left Earth, so the players have officially outlasted the lore.
Bottom line
Is Star Conflict dead? The official service is. The game itself is free on Steam with its own server included, and anyone can host one as long as they don't charge for it. Check the Star Conflict game page to see how many people show up.
Published Oct 10, 2026. Based on Gaijin's Oct 9 Steam notice, Targem Games, and the Community Edition overview. Steam store assets for app 212070 used editorially only.