Infrastructure

Why Frankfurt Is the Best Location for EU Game Servers

22 April 2026 5 min read ESAGAMES Team

If your community is in Europe, where you host matters as much as the hardware. Frankfurt is consistently the best choice for EU game servers — here's why.

The networking heart of Europe

Frankfurt is home to DE-CIX, the largest internet exchange point in the world by traffic. A huge share of European internet traffic passes through the city, which means networks there are exceptionally well-connected to the rest of the continent.

For a game server, that translates directly into lower, more stable ping for players spread across the EU — from the UK and France to Poland, Romania and the Balkans.

Central = low average ping

Ping is dominated by physical distance. A server in the geographic and network centre of Europe minimises the average distance to all your players, rather than being great for one country and bad for the rest.

  • Short, direct routes to most of Western and Central Europe.
  • Excellent peering with major ISPs and carriers.
  • Dense connectivity to Eastern Europe and the Balkans, where many gaming communities are based.

Routing matters as much as distance

Two servers the same distance away can have very different ping if one is poorly routed. Because Frankfurt is so densely peered, traffic tends to take short, direct paths — fewer hops, less latency and fewer of the routing detours that cause lag and packet loss.

Built for protection too

Frankfurt's connectivity isn't just good for latency — it's also where large-scale DDoS scrubbing capacity lives. Hosting there lets us route every server through our multi-Tbps filtering network without adding meaningful latency.

Frankfurt gives you the best of both worlds: the lowest average ping in Europe, and the room to absorb terabit-scale attacks.

That's why every ESAGAMES game server is hosted in Frankfurt on our own well-peered network — low latency for your players, with Anti-DDoS built in.

Low ping, in the heart of Europe

Deploy a protected game server in Frankfurt and give your whole community a stable, low ping.

See game hosting
More from the blog

Keep reading

Security

What Is the AISURU Botnet? The Terabit DDoS Threat Explained

One of the most powerful DDoS botnets of 2025–2026 — what it is, how it works, and why gaming is its #1 target.

5 June 2026
Security

DDoS Trends of 2025–2026: Bigger, Faster, and Aimed at Gamers

Attacks are bigger, faster and increasingly aimed at gaming. The key DDoS trends and what they mean for you.

20 May 2026
Buyer's guide

How to Choose a Game Server Host (2026 Buyer's Guide)

CPU, Anti-DDoS, location, panel and support — the checklist that actually matters before you buy.

8 May 2026
Guides

Best Minecraft Modpacks to Host in 2026

From All The Mods 10 to RLCraft and Create — the best modpacks to run a server with this year, and the RAM each needs.

11 June 2026
Buyer's guide

How Much Does a Game Server Cost? (2026 Pricing Guide)

What actually drives the price of a game server — RAM, game, location and protection — and what to expect to pay.

9 June 2026
Comparison

FiveM vs RedM: What's the Difference?

What each is, the key differences, and which to choose for your roleplay community.

2 June 2026
Security

How to Protect Your Game Server From DDoS Attacks

Why game servers get attacked, what real protection looks like, and what you can (and can't) do yourself.

28 May 2026
Guides

Best Free Minecraft Server Plugins in 2026

EssentialsX, LuckPerms, WorldGuard, CoreProtect and more — the free plugins every Paper/Spigot server should run.

12 June 2026
Guides

Best CS2 Server Plugins in 2026

Metamod:Source, CounterStrikeSharp, MatchZy and more — the plugins that turn a CS2 server into retakes, pugs or practice.

12 June 2026
Guides

Best Rust Server Plugins in 2026 (Oxide / Carbon)

Admin tools, kits, economy, clans, raidable bases — the Oxide/Carbon plugins that build a sticky Rust server.

12 June 2026
Guides

Best FiveM Scripts & Resources in 2026

ESX/QBCore, ox_lib, ox_inventory, pma-voice and more — the resources every FiveM RP server is built on.

12 June 2026
Guides

Best Garry's Mod Server Addons in 2026

ULX, Wiremod, PAC3, DarkRP, TTT and more — the addons and gamemodes that make a Garry's Mod server.

12 June 2026
Guides

Best Valheim Mods to Run on Your Server in 2026

BepInEx, QoL, building and content mods — the best Valheim mods to run on a dedicated server this year.

12 June 2026
Guides

Best ARK Mods to Run on Your Server in 2026

Structures Plus, Spyglass, Cryopods and more — the best ARK mods to run on a server this year.

12 June 2026
Guides

Best Project Zomboid Mods for Your Server in 2026

QoL, vehicles, weapons and overhauls — the best Project Zomboid mods to run on a server this year.

12 June 2026
Guides

Best Palworld Mods & Server Tweaks in 2026

PalDefender, config tuning and QoL mods — the best ways to customise a Palworld dedicated server.

12 June 2026
Guides

The Best Games to Host a Server For in 2026

Minecraft, Rust, FiveM, CS2, Palworld, Valheim and more — the best games to run a server for this year.

12 June 2026
Security

What Is a DDoS Attack? A Plain-English Guide for Server Owners

No jargon — what a DDoS attack actually is, the main types, why servers get hit and how to stay online.

24 May 2026
Security

How ESAGAMES Anti-DDoS Protection Works

A look under the hood of our protection — multi-Tbps Frankfurt filtering and in-house XDP mitigation, always on.

23 May 2026
Infrastructure

What Is XDP DDoS Filtering? Line-Rate Protection Explained

eBPF/XDP filters packets in the kernel at line rate, before they reach your game. Here is how it stops DDoS.

21 May 2026
Security

What Is an IP Stresser or Booter? (And Why You Should Never Use One)

Booters and stressers are DDoS-for-hire. What they are, how they are abused against gamers, and the legal reality.

19 May 2026
Security

Layer 4 vs Layer 7 DDoS Attacks Explained

Network-layer floods vs application-layer attacks — the real difference, examples, and how each is stopped.

17 May 2026
Security

Is My Game Server Being DDoSed? How to Tell

Attack or just lag? The tell-tale signs of a DDoS, how to confirm it, and what to do in the moment.

15 May 2026
Infrastructure

Inside the ESAGAMES Network: Frankfurt, Peering and Low Ping

Why we build in Frankfurt, how peering at DE-CIX cuts ping, and how the network ties into DDoS filtering.

13 May 2026
Guides

Game Server Lag: Is It Your CPU or Your Network?

Lag comes from two places: CPU tick rate or the network. How to tell which is hurting you, and how to fix it.

12 May 2026
Security

What Is a Botnet? How Everyday Devices Become DDoS Weapons

A botnet is an army of hijacked devices used to launch attacks. How they are built, controlled, and stopped.

31 May 2026
Security

What Is the Mirai Botnet? The Malware That Rewrote DDoS

The IoT malware that launched record DDoS attacks and inspired today's botnets. What it is and why it still matters.

30 May 2026
Security

DDoS Attack Vectors Explained: UDP, SYN, Amplification and More

A detailed tour of the main DDoS techniques — UDP, SYN, amplification, fragmentation, Layer-7 — and how each is stopped.

1 June 2026
Security

How to Protect a TeamSpeak or Voice Server From DDoS

Voice servers are easy targets and very sensitive to lag. Why TeamSpeak gets hit and how to actually protect it.

29 May 2026
Reference

Anti-DDoS Glossary: Key Terms Every Server Owner Should Know

Plain-English definitions of the DDoS and Anti-DDoS terms you will actually run into — from botnet to XDP.

27 May 2026
Guides

Game Server Security Checklist (Beyond Anti-DDoS)

DDoS is one threat among many. A practical hardening checklist for passwords, admin access, backups and more.

26 May 2026
Security

The Biggest DDoS Attacks in History: Records That Broke the Internet

From the Mirai attack that took down Twitter to record multi-terabit floods — the attacks that broke the internet.

10 June 2026
Security

Why Do People DDoS Game Servers? The Motives Behind the Attacks

Rivalry, revenge, extortion, boredom — the real reasons people attack game servers, and what it means for you.

9 June 2026
Guides

What Is Tick Rate? Why 64 vs 128 Tick Matters

Tick rate is how often a server updates the world per second. What it means, and why 64 vs 128 tick matters.

7 June 2026
Guides

What Is Netcode? Why Your Shots Don't Always Register

Netcode keeps online players in sync. What it is, why hit-reg feels off, and how lag compensation works.

6 June 2026
Guides

What Is Ping, and How Do You Lower It?

Ping is the delay between you and the server. What causes high ping, and practical ways to lower it.

4 June 2026
Comparison

Dedicated vs Shared Game Server Hosting: What's the Difference?

Shared, VPS or dedicated? What each means, the real trade-offs, and which is right for your community.

3 June 2026
Security

What to Do If Someone Gets Root Access to Your VPS

Suspect a root compromise? A calm, step-by-step guide to contain it, investigate, recover cleanly and prevent a repeat.

17 June 2026
Guides

How to Secure a Linux VPS: A Hardening Checklist

SSH keys, firewall, updates, brute-force protection, least privilege — the essentials to harden a Linux VPS on day one.

14 June 2026
Guides

How to Harden SSH and Stop Brute-Force Attacks

SSH is the most attacked service on most servers. How to harden it: keys, no root login, and stopping brute-force bots.

13 June 2026
Security

Famous Linux Vulnerabilities Every Server Owner Should Know

Heartbleed, Shellshock, Dirty Pipe, PwnKit, regreSSHion — the famous Linux bugs, what they did, and the lessons.

16 June 2026
Security

The XZ Backdoor: How the Internet Almost Got Backdoored

A hidden backdoor in a core Linux library, planted by a trusted maintainer over years and caught by luck. The story.

15 June 2026
Infrastructure

What's Changing in Linux & OS Security (And Why It Matters)

Rust in the kernel, Wayland, the memory-safety push, io_uring caution, the CentOS shift — the changes reshaping OS security.

11 June 2026
Payments Secure checkout with cards, banking apps and digital wallets.

Choose the payment flow that fits your stack and region without leaving the platform.

Pay by Zen Visa Mastercard Paysafecard PaysafeCash Skrill Trustly Bancontact UnionPay iDeal WebMoney