Game Server Wipe Schedules Explained: Weekly, Biweekly or Monthly?

A wipe resets a server's world, and sometimes player progress, so everyone starts fresh. Survival PvP servers wipe on a fixed schedule because fresh starts bring players back and stop the oldest groups from dominating forever. Weekly wipes suit busy, high population servers; biweekly and monthly suit most community servers; PvE and friend group servers often never wipe except when a big update forces it. Pick a schedule that matches how much time your players have, announce it clearly, and stick to it.

The kinds of wipe

Wipe type	What resets	What stays
Map wipe	The world: buildings, loot, bases, often inventories	Unlocks, blueprints, ranks, player stats
Blueprint or progress wipe	Unlocked recipes, tech trees, levels	Usually done together with a map wipe
Full wipe	Everything	Bans, admin lists and server settings
Forced wipe	Whatever the developer's update requires	Depends on the game

Rust is the clearest example: a map wipe keeps blueprints, a full wipe also clears them, and the developer's monthly update forces at least a map wipe on every server.

Forced wipes from the developer

Some updates change the world format so much that old saves stop working. When that happens, you have no choice.

Rust forces a wipe with the monthly update on the first Thursday of each month. Most Rust servers build their whole schedule around that date. Our Rust force wipe schedule lists the dates.
7 Days to Die major versions usually need a new world, and the developers recommend starting fresh on each big release. See how to reset a 7 Days to Die server.
Valheim does not force wipes, but new biomes added by updates only generate in parts of the map no one has explored, so many groups restart or move to a new world for major updates.
Minecraft worlds carry over between versions, but new terrain features only appear in newly generated chunks. Many SMP servers run "seasons" with a fresh world each major version.

How often to wipe

Schedule	Fits	Why
Weekly	Busy PvP servers, high gather rates, big groups	Fast progression means the server is "solved" within days
Biweekly	Most community PvP servers	Room to build and raid, without stale late game
Monthly	Lower population or casual servers	Tied to forced wipes where they exist
Seasonal (months)	PvE, roleplay, friend groups, Minecraft SMP	People care about what they built
Never	Small private servers	Only wipe when an update forces it

Rust community servers often run weekly or biweekly wipes plus the monthly forced wipe, and many combine blueprint wipes only on the forced date. Modded servers with high gather rates usually wipe more often, because progress happens faster. If you run boosted rates, see how to make a modded Rust server with higher gather rates.

What to think about when choosing

Player time. Groups who play a few evenings a week need longer between wipes than groups who play daily.
Population. High population servers progress faster and go stale faster.
PvP or PvE. In PvP, wipes keep the playing field fair. In PvE, a wipe throws away the main reason people play.
Your own time. Each wipe takes setup: new map, testing, plugin data resets, announcements.
Competition. In Rust especially, players pick servers by wipe day. Many servers wipe on Thursdays to line up with the forced wipe, and some pick a different day to stand out.

Timing the wipe

Pick a fixed day and time, and keep it. Players plan around it.
Choose peak time for your region. A wipe at 7 p.m. local time gets a crowd. A wipe at 4 a.m. starts empty.
Line up with updates. If a forced wipe is coming in three days, do not wipe yourself today.
Announce it. Put the schedule in the server name or description (for example "Wiped 10/02 | Weekly Thu"), in your Discord and in game messages before the wipe.

Our guide on how to change a game server name and description shows where to put wipe info that players see in the browser.

Wipe day checklist

Back up the world before wiping, even though you are deleting it. Players will ask about something they lost, and a backup settles it.
Update the game and every mod or plugin to the current versions.
Wipe the right files: world save, and blueprint or player data if it is a full wipe. The exact files differ per game. See how to wipe a Rust server and how to wipe a DayZ server.
Reset plugin data that tracks the old world, such as shops, kits, cooldowns and leaderboards.
Change the map seed or size if you rotate maps.
Start, join, check spawn and a few key systems.
Update the server name with the new wipe date and announce it.

A Rust base on a fresh map, the game best known for regular server wipes

When not to wipe

If your server is a small group of friends, or a PvE world people have spent months on, wiping often does more harm than good. Keep the world and use backups instead. Only start over when everyone agrees, or when an update leaves no choice.

Wipes on a hosted server

A wipe is mostly file work, and a GamezServers server gives you the tools for it: one click backups before the wipe, a file manager and SFTP for removing saves, the world seed and size as fields in the panel for Rust, and a live console to check the fresh map. For Rust and DayZ, that turns wipe day into a few minutes of work.

FAQ

What does wipe mean on a game server?

A wipe deletes the world, and sometimes player progress, so everyone starts again. A map wipe resets the world. A full wipe also resets unlocks and blueprints.

How often do Rust servers wipe?

Every Rust server is wiped by the monthly forced update on the first Thursday of the month. Many community servers also wipe weekly or every two weeks.

Do PvE servers need wipes?

Usually not. PvE players care about their builds. Wipe only when an update requires it or the community asks for a new start.

Should I tell players before a wipe?

Yes, always. Put the schedule in the server name or description and announce each wipe ahead of time in game and in your community channels.