TL; DR: Calling all GMod players: Physgun offers top-notch game hosting for Garry’s Mod and other titles (from Minecraft to Palworld) with a custom utility suite, competitive pricing, and community-focused support. With features like developer tools and immediate patches, Physgun is for players who want the true freedom of sandbox gaming.
I’m a sucker for sandbox games. I love the freedom to create, build, and just see what happens when I try something a little… unconventional. Sometimes, I like to throw a bomb in and watch the chaos unfold.
Sure, I enjoy games where you follow some fun guidelines and work toward specific goals, but there’s something extra thrilling about trying something new or finding something unexpected.
And it’s even better when you’re playing with other people. Take my sister, for example, who has a weekly Fortnite night with her friends. She’s so dedicated that she’s turned down other plans just to make sure she’s online for it.
Multiplayer games have always been popular, but the internet has given us the magic of connecting from anywhere. No more needing to head to your friend’s basement to play Jackbox or Street Fighter (unless, of course, you still want to).
But this upgrade also means we need reliable servers, which is where game hosting comes in. All online games run on servers, but you can rent your own and have total control over your multiplayer experience.
This brings me to the game server host Physgun. Now, if you know anything about Garry’s Mod, your ears probably perked up. (And if you don’t, that’s fine too; Physgun hosts other games as well.)
But if you’re into Garry’s Mod (GMod), this is definitely worth noting: It’s not just about having a reliable connection, it’s about having the freedom to truly make the game your own. That’s exactly what Physgun’s hosting is all about.
Physgun’s President and Manager, William McGlynn and Austin Hoyos, respectively, know this better than most since the team has spent years focusing specifically on what GMod and other players are looking for.
Game Servers with Players in Mind
Physgun was founded about three years ago to address a specific need in the game hosting community.
Austin said the inspiration came from a noticeable gap in the market: “At the time, there was a big market divide because a larger host went under, and there was a real demand for more than just a basic hosting platform,” he explained.
Physgun aimed to fill this gap with a robust solution: a custom utility suite, Physgun Utils, designed to boost server performance.
The gameplay improvement train keeps rolling: Physgun recently patched a major game crash — a fix that’s completely exclusive to their servers.
Why, you ask? Because Physgun Utils allows its team to implement solutions that go beyond what’s available to other hosts.
Austin and William credit the suite to Physgun’s Vice President and in-house developer, Anthony Szczurowski.
“That exploit is only patched on our servers because of our utility suite, so innovation like that is really what built Physgun,” said Anthony.
Its game server features include DDoS protection, free add-ons, backups, and customizable settings. The Garry’s Mod configurator has one-click settings changes, net message graphs, and tools to prevent things like bug and cheat exploits.
Players Need Server Flexibility
Server flexibility is crucial for players who want to personalize their gaming experience, and Physgun delivers exactly that. With data centers in Chicago and Germany — and plans to expand into the UK — Physgun goes a little further by owning and running its own hardware.
See, owning your own hardware is a big deal for gamers because it means the provider isn’t outsourcing to unknown third-party companies. In a similar vein, unlike resellers who have to mark up prices to make a profit, owning your own hardware also makes it easier to offer competitive pricing.
“Controlling the cost helps a lot, especially in a market that can sometimes have really small margins. It helps us expand and make greater innovations than the typical host can,” Austin added.
For GMod, having the flexibility of your own server and configurations is key, partly because mods play a huge role.
Mods and other user-created worlds or modes are the heart of Garry’s Mod, whether it’s something like DarkRP, Trouble in Terrorist Town, or Prop Hunt. The right server allows players to customize their game to their liking, whether it’s adding new features or tweaking gameplay mechanics.
Here’s a look at the plans:
- Micro: $9.87/month for small servers
- Starter: $19.87/month, with 75% CPU allocation, 4GB RAM, and 150GB NVMe storage
- Growing Community: $39.87/month, 100% CPU allocation, 8GB RAM, 150GB storage
- Turbo: $59.87/month, unlimited CPU and RAM, fair-use storage
But Physgun doesn’t just do game hosting — it also offers bare metal servers and VPS hosting:
- Bare Metal Servers: Bare metal servers are best for those who need the best of the best performance from fully-owned hardware. This option offers customizable dedicated servers with strong DDoS protection (10Tbps+), easy-to-use management tools, and fast support.
- VPS Hosting: Physgun offers high-performance VPS hosting featuring AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, ultra-fast NVMe storage, instant setup, and full root access. The service includes a user-friendly firewall portal, DDoS protection (up to 10Tbps+), and multiple server locations.
- Discord Bot Hosting: Want your own Discord bot? With Physgun, you’ll get strong DDoS protection, reliable performance, and easy management through its user-friendly platform.
- cPanel Web Hosting: Featuring fast Intel Xeon CPUs, cPanel, and DDoS protection, you can get cPanel web hosting offers multiple plans tailored for small to growing websites, providing flexibility in storage, domain management, and MySQL databases.
I honestly think owning its own hardware to give players the full suite of tools they need is what sets Phygun apart in a crowded hosting market.
Getting Direct Community Input
Austin said the most popular services are Physgun’s shared game hosting and dedicated bare metal servers, specifically for Rust players — and it’s because of the performance and affordability.
Because finding a provider with the newest tech on the lower end of the pricing scale can feel like seeing a unicorn at the zoo.
“Our new Rust lineups have been getting a lot of traction,” he said. “We recently relaunched them, and they’re now running on AMD Ryzen 9s, the latest and greatest. We’ve kept the pricing competitive since we own all the hardware, so there are no hidden fees or anything like that. It’s been working out really well for people.”
Unsurprisingly, similar to the world of GMod, community is a major priority for Physgun. The team stays on ground level with them mainly through Discord, where players can give direct feedback.
Ticketing is also an option, but Austin said most people prefer to go directly to Discord. (I would, too.)
“We implement any feedback pretty much straight away, and it’s worked great so far,” Austin said, and added: “Honestly, people seem to really like that they have somebody to talk to from the company, which is pretty much our goal with this whole thing.”
As for what’s next, William said there are upcoming DDoS protection updates, and they are rolling out a new network setup across all locations, starting in Chicago.
Physgun currently relies on an external provider but plans to bring mitigation in-house for better filtering and routing control.
If you know anything about cybersecurity, you’ll know routing plays a key role in network performance, reliability, and speed, especially in managing large amounts of traffic or protecting against attacks.
“This gives us more control over routing, something most providers can’t do,” William said. “It’s going to cost more upfront, but we’re willing to invest in stability and reliability to improve the customer experience. Not many providers offer this, so we see it as a big advantage for growth.”
That’s what I like to hear. If you do, too, then check out Physgun.
