7 Days to Die game version and experimental

Your 7 Days to Die server runs the game's current version unless you tell it otherwise. Here's how to keep it on an older version, for example while a mod catches up with a game update, and how to try an experimental build when there is one.

How versions work

The game's developers keep the dedicated server's past versions on Steam as branches. Your server installs the branch you name, and a player's game must be on the same version as the server to join.

The branches on Steam on 31 October 2026 include:

Change the server's version

1. Make a backup in Backups, so you can go back to where you were.
2. Stop the server.
3. In the Startup tab, set Game version to the branch, for example v3.3.0. Leave it blank to go back to the current version.
4. Start the server. It downloads that version before the game starts.

While the server is on a branch, every start takes a little longer, because the server checks with Steam that it has that branch's files.

Change your game's version

Every player needs the same version as the server:

1. In your Steam Library, right-click 7 Days to Die and choose Properties.
2. Open Game Versions & Betas and pick the same branch from the list.
3. Steam downloads that version. Launch the game as usual once it finishes.

To go back to the current version, pick the default option in the same list.

Experimental builds

When the developers test an update before its release, they publish it as a branch too, usually called latest_experimental. It was on Steam until late October 2026, and none is open right now. When one is, set Game version to its name the same way, and pick it in Steam on every player's game.

Try an experimental build on a fresh save name rather than the world your group plays on: set Save name in the Startup tab to something new before you switch, and back to your old save once you return to the current version.

Mods and versions

Mods are made for a particular version of the game. When a game update breaks a mod you use, put the server on the last version the mod supports until the mod is updated. How to install mods on a 7 Days to Die server covers adding and removing them.

Checked against 7 Days to Die V3.4.0 (b9), October 2026.

Related guides

• How to make a 7 Days to Die server
• How to create and restore backups