CS2 / Counter-Strike servers on 128-tick infrastructure with low-latency routing.
Counter-Strike 2 (formerly CS:GO) wants 128-tick infrastructure for competitive play - 64 tick is still fine for casual or ranked. Latency is critical: pick a datacenter close to your community (15-30 ms ideal). Configure with SourceMod + MetaMod for custom mods (Surf, KZ, Retake, MatchZy). L4 anti-DDoS is mandatory as CS servers are frequent targets. Steam GSLT token required.
Multiplayer games are mostly single-thread - favour a high CPU clock (4 GHz+) over a high core count. RAM depends on the game: 2-4 GB for 10 Minecraft players, 8-16 GB for 50 Rust players.
A game host bundles panels (Pterodactyl, TCAdmin), mod management, calibrated anti-DDoS and backups - hours of setup saved. A VPS costs less but expects sysadmin skills.
L4/L7 DDoS protection is mandatory - check the absorption capacity in Gbps the host advertises, and favour those who filter upstream without rerouting.