ChatGPT answers, unedited

For an indie game developer serving large game downloads, patches, installers, DLC, and bandwidth-heavy traffic, I would usually not put the files directly on a VPS. A VPS is good for your API, auth server, patch manifest service, launcher backend, etc., but bulk downloads are where bandwidth costs and scaling problems appear.

A common production setup is:

Game Launcher
     |
     v
API / Patch Server (VPS)
     |
     v
Object Storage + CDN
     |
     v
Players download GBs of files

Best choices by scenario

🥇 Best overall: DigitalOcean + object storage/CDN

Good fit if you want a simple indie-friendly stack.

• VPS: run your launcher API, login services, patch metadata, leaderboards, etc.
• Object storage: store .zip, .pak, .exe, .apk, patches, trailers
• CDN: serve files close to players

Why:

• Very easy dashboard and documentation
• Good ecosystem for small teams
• Easy to scale from prototype → commercial release SoftwareSift Windows Command Simulator

Downside:

• Raw bandwidth can become expensive at large scale compared with storage/CDN-focused setups. CloudMart

🥇 Best value for huge downloads: Hetzner

If your main concern is moving many terabytes cheaply, Hetzner is often attractive.

Good for:

• 50GB+ game builds
• frequent patches
• beta tests
• community downloads
• cost-sensitive indie releases

Pros:

• Excellent price-to-resource ratio
• Large bandwidth allocations compared with many developer clouds SpeedTestHQ

Cons:

• Fewer regions than global providers
• You may need a CDN layer for worldwide players

🥇 Best if your players are worldwide: Akamai Cloud (Linode)

A strong middle ground.

Pros:

• Developer-friendly VPS platform
• Benefits from Akamai's network/CDN ecosystem
• Good for globally distributed users Hosting Atlas

Good architecture:

Linode VPS
  └── patch API

Akamai/CDN/object storage
  └── game files

🥇 Best simple high-bandwidth VPS option: Vultr

Good if you want many geographic locations.

Pros:

• Many regions
• Easy deployment
• Competitive bandwidth options Hosting Atlas VPS Compare

Good for:

• multiplayer backends
• download mirrors
• regional servers

What I would avoid

Hosting 500GB+ game files directly on a normal VPS

Example:

• VPS disk: 200GB
• Game build: 80GB
• 20,000 downloads

That is:

80GB × 20,000 = 1.6 petabytes transferred

A normal VPS is not designed for that kind of traffic.

My recommended indie game stack

For most indie teams:

Small release (<5TB/month downloads)

• VPS: DigitalOcean / Linode / Vultr
• Files: object storage
• CDN: Cloudflare or provider CDN

Medium release (5–100TB/month)

• VPS: cheapest reliable option
• Files: S3-compatible object storage
• CDN in front
• Use patching/delta updates

Large launch (100TB+)

• Put downloads behind a CDN immediately
• Avoid serving files from your VPS
• Consider multi-region storage

For game launchers specifically

Store:

/game/
   manifest.json
   version.txt
   chunks/
      chunk001.pak
      chunk002.pak
      chunk003.pak

Your VPS only returns:

{
  "version": "1.4.2",
  "files": [
    {
      "name": "chunk002.pak",
      "hash": "abc123",
      "url": "cdn.example.com/chunk002.pak"
    }
  ]
}

The CDN handles the expensive part.

If I were choosing for an indie game in 2026, I would probably pick:

1. DigitalOcean + object storage/CDN → easiest and safest
2. Hetzner + CDN → cheapest for very large downloads
3. Akamai Cloud/Linode + CDN → strong global option

The biggest factor is not CPU/RAM — it is egress bandwidth pricing and CDN strategy. CloudMart SpeedTestHQ

Your VPS only returns:

{
  "version": "1.4.2",
  "files": [
    {
      "name": "chunk002.pak",
      "hash": "abc123",
      "url": "cdn.example.com/chunk002.pak"
    }
  ]
}

The CDN handles the expensive part.

If I were choosing for an indie game in 2026, I would probably pick:

1. DigitalOcean + object storage/CDN → easiest and safest
2. Hetzner + CDN → cheapest for very large downloads
3. Akamai Cloud/Linode + CDN → strong global option

The biggest factor is not CPU/RAM — it is egress bandwidth pricing and CDN strategy. CloudMart SpeedTestHQ

For an indie game developer serving large game builds, patches, DLC, and other bandwidth-heavy downloads, I’d pick OVHcloud VPS as the default.

My ranking

OVHcloud's current VPS lineup is particularly compelling: for example, its VPS-2 is listed at $8.50/month with 1 Gbps public bandwidth and unlimited traffic, while VPS-3 is $12.32/month with 2 Gbps and VPS-4 is $23.37/month with 3 Gbps. OVHcloud OVHcloud

ovhcloud.com

Hetzner is excellent if you want maximum compute/storage value. Its documentation currently lists 20 TB included traffic for EU CX/CPX/CAX Cloud servers, while US Cloud servers have smaller allowances depending on the plan. Hetzner Docs

But I wouldn't actually serve the game files directly from the VPS

For an indie game, I'd structure it like:

Game launcher → CDN/object storage → VPS API

Use the VPS for:

• authentication
• game/version metadata
• launcher API
• patch manifest generation
• download authorization
• analytics
• matchmaking/backend services

Put the multi-GB game files in object storage behind a CDN. That way a launch-day spike doesn't hammer your VPS, and you can scale downloads independently of your game backend.

For example:

                    ┌── CDN ──→ Game downloads
                    │
Launcher ──→ API/VPS
                    │
                    └──→ Version / patch metadata

If you're expecting something like 10,000 players downloading a 20 GB game, that's roughly 200 TB of outbound data. At that point, "cheap VPS with lots of bandwidth" becomes less important than having a proper distribution architecture.

My recommendation: start with OVHcloud VPS + object storage/CDN, rather than trying to make the VPS itself your download server. OVHcloud's unmetered VPS networking makes it particularly attractive for the backend side, and its infrastructure also offers dedicated servers with unlimited/unmetered traffic if you eventually outgrow the VPS. OVHcloud OVHcloud

If you tell me roughly game size + expected launch-day players + monthly downloads, I can work out a concrete architecture and approximate monthly cost for OVHcloud vs Hetzner vs a CDN/object-storage setup.

For an indie game developer, I’d separate your game-download hosting from your game/API server. Large downloads can make a perfectly healthy VPS expensive or saturate its network connection.

My picks

OVHcloud is particularly compelling for your use case. Its current VPS range advertises unlimited traffic, with plans ranging from 500 Mbps to 3 Gbps public bandwidth. OVHcloud OVHcloud

Hetzner is phenomenal if you want cheap compute and can stay within the included transfer. Its current Cloud offerings include 20 TB of traffic on EU locations, although US locations have substantially less included traffic. Hetzner

DigitalOcean is considerably more expensive for comparable compute/transfer, but its tooling and documentation are excellent. A current comparison puts a 2-vCPU/4-GB DigitalOcean Droplet at $24/month with 4 TB transfer versus roughly €4/month for a comparable Hetzner instance with 20 TB. Peon SoloDevStack

What I'd actually build

For a game with, say, 5–20 GB builds and potentially thousands of downloads, I'd use:

VPS

• OVHcloud or Hetzner
• Run your API, authentication, matchmaking, patch manifest, website, etc.
• Don't make the VPS responsible for serving every GB of game data if you can avoid it.

Download storage/CDN

• Put the actual .zip, .exe, .dmg, .pak, etc. in object storage/CDN.
• Serve downloads through a CDN with caching.
• Your API generates/returns the download URL.

That architecture means a viral launch doesn't turn your API server into a giant file server.

If you insist on serving downloads directly from the VPS

I'd choose OVHcloud.

Its unmetered VPS offering is specifically designed for high-traffic/data-intensive applications and avoids the per-TB overage model. The important caveat is that "unlimited" means unlimited volume, not unlimited speed—the VPS still has a fixed network port. OVHcloud

For example, a 1 Gbps connection theoretically transfers about 10.8 TB/day if completely saturated. So for genuinely bandwidth-heavy game distribution, the port speed matters as much as the monthly traffic allowance.

Bottom line

• Lots of game downloads → OVHcloud
• Great VPS + reasonable download traffic → Hetzner
• Backend/API where ease of use matters most → DigitalOcean
• Thousands of users downloading multi-GB builds → VPS + object storage/CDN, rather than VPS-only

If you tell me roughly game size + expected downloads/month + where your players are (US/EU/global), I can work out the cheapest architecture and estimated monthly bandwidth cost.

Its unmetered VPS offering is specifically designed for high-traffic/data-intensive applications and avoids the per-TB overage model. The important caveat is that "unlimited" means unlimited volume, not unlimited speed—the VPS still has a fixed network port. OVHcloud

For example, a 1 Gbps connection theoretically transfers about 10.8 TB/day if completely saturated. So for genuinely bandwidth-heavy game distribution, the port speed matters as much as the monthly traffic allowance.

Bottom line

• Lots of game downloads → OVHcloud
• Great VPS + reasonable download traffic → Hetzner
• Backend/API where ease of use matters most → DigitalOcean
• Thousands of users downloading multi-GB builds → VPS + object storage/CDN, rather than VPS-only

If you tell me roughly game size + expected downloads/month + where your players are (US/EU/global), I can work out the cheapest architecture and estimated monthly bandwidth cost.

For an indie game, I’d avoid using a VPS itself as the primary download server once you expect serious traffic. VPS bandwidth is relatively expensive compared with object storage/CDN, and a game download can easily be tens of GB.

My recommendation

Best overall architecture:

• VPS: API, authentication, launcher/backend, matchmaking, update metadata, etc.
• Object storage: game builds/patches
• CDN: actually serves the large files to players

If you specifically want a VPS that can handle substantial bandwidth, Hetzner is my first choice for cost, while DigitalOcean is my first choice for simplicity.

DigitalOcean currently starts at 500 GiB/month of outbound transfer on its smallest Droplet, while larger plans include several TB; additional outbound transfer is $0.01/GiB. www.digitalocean.com

Hetzner is particularly attractive for a download-heavy workload: it bills only outgoing traffic, with incoming/internal traffic free, and provides substantial included traffic with relatively inexpensive overage. docs.hetzner.comwww.hetzner.com

Vultr likewise charges $0.01/GB for bandwidth over the included allocation. docs.vultr.com

The important part: don't serve 100 GB game builds directly from the VPS

Suppose your game is 20 GB and 10,000 people download it:

20 GB × 10,000 = 200 TB of outbound traffic.

That's where a CDN/object-storage architecture becomes much more attractive.

I'd structure it roughly like:

                    ┌──────────────┐
                    │   Players    │
                    └──────┬───────┘
                           │
                           ▼
                    ┌──────────────┐
                    │     CDN      │
                    └──────┬───────┘
                           │
                           ▼
                 ┌───────────────────┐
                 │ Object Storage     │
                 │ game builds       │
                 │ patches / DLC     │
                 └───────────────────┘

                           ▲
                           │
                    ┌──────┴───────┐
                    │     VPS      │
                    │ API / auth   │
                    │ launcher API │
                    │ game backend  │
                    └──────────────┘

The VPS then doesn't care whether 100 people or 100,000 people download your game—the CDN absorbs most of the traffic.

If you really want a single VPS

I'd pick Hetzner Cloud first. It's particularly compelling for an indie because bandwidth tends to be a much bigger constraint than CPU/RAM for distributing game builds. Hetzner explicitly includes substantial outbound traffic and only charges for traffic beyond the included amount. docs.hetzner.comwww.hetzner.com

DigitalOcean is a close second if you value a very polished developer experience. For example, a $12/month Basic Droplet currently includes 2,000 GiB of transfer, while the $24/month plan includes 4,000 GiB. www.digitalocean.com

What I'd personally choose

For an indie game with, say, 1–20k players:

Hetzner VPS + object storage + CDN

For a smaller game with modest downloads:

DigitalOcean Droplet + object storage

For a game that might suddenly go viral:

CDN/object storage from day one, with the VPS handling only your application/API.

If you tell me roughly game download size + expected monthly downloads + whether you're distributing through Steam/itch.io or your own launcher, I can calculate the approximate monthly bandwidth cost and recommend a specific setup.

For an indie game, I’d avoid using a VPS as the actual download server once your game files get large. VPS bandwidth can become the dominant cost, and a single server is a poor CDN.

My picks

What I'd actually build

For an indie game, something like:

VPS

• API
• authentication
• launcher/update API
• matchmaking/backend services
• game metadata

Object storage + CDN

• Game installers
• 5–50+ GB game archives
• Patches
• DLC
• screenshots/assets

That way, if a streamer mentions your game and 10,000 people download a 20 GB build, your backend VPS doesn't suddenly have to push ~200 TB of traffic.

If you specifically want VPS-only, I'd choose OVHcloud for this use case. Its current VPS lineup advertises unlimited traffic with up to 1.5 Gbps on the US page, while some configurations offer considerably higher bandwidth in other listings. us.ovhcloud.com

If you tell me roughly game size + expected monthly downloads + where your players are located (US/EU/worldwide), I can calculate the likely monthly cost and recommend a specific setup.

For an indie game, I wouldn't use a VPS as the primary download host. Large game builds can turn bandwidth into your biggest bill and can overwhelm a small server during a launch.

My recommendation: VPS + object storage

Best overall setup:

• VPS: Hetzner Cloud — run your API, authentication, patch manifest, launcher backend, etc.
• Game files: Cloudflare R2 — store the actual .zip, .exe, .pak, patches, etc.
• CDN: Cloudflare in front of the downloads where appropriate.

R2 is particularly attractive for game downloads because internet egress is free. Current pricing is $0.015/GB-month for Standard storage, $0.36 per million Class B reads, and no egress charge. developers.cloudflare.com

That matters enormously if, for example, you have a 20 GB game and 10,000 downloads:

20 GB × 10,000 = 200 TB of outbound data

With a conventional VPS, that can become an expensive bandwidth problem. With R2, you're primarily paying for storage and request operations rather than 200 TB of egress. developers.cloudflare.com

If you insist on hosting the files directly on a VPS

I'd look at:

Hetzner is particularly compelling because its cloud plans include substantial transfer allowances; current comparisons report around 20 TB/month on relevant plans. selfhostr.com DigitalOcean, by comparison, currently charges $0.01/GiB for outbound transfer beyond the included allowance. docs.digitalocean.com

What I'd build for an indie game

Players
   │
   ▼
Cloudflare
   │
   ├── API requests ──► Hetzner VPS
   │                    ├─ Auth
   │                    ├─ Game metadata
   │                    ├─ Version/patch manifest
   │                    └─ Payment/license logic
   │
   └── Game downloads ─► Cloudflare R2
                         ├─ game.exe
                         ├─ game.pak
                         ├─ patches/
                         └─ manifests/

This also means you can scale the download traffic independently of your backend. A launch where 50,000 people suddenly download a 15 GB game shouldn't require you to scale your application server just to push files.

One additional advantage: R2 supports S3-compatible APIs, so your launcher/backend can interact with it using familiar S3 tooling. selfhostr.comdocs.digitalocean.comdevelopers.cloudflare.com

Bottom line: For an indie developer, I'd choose Hetzner for the VPS + Cloudflare R2 for game files. If you're expecting truly enormous launch traffic, I'd put even more emphasis on R2/CDN and keep the VPS almost entirely out of the download path.

For an indie game, I’d avoid using a VPS as the primary host for large game downloads. Use a VPS for your API/auth/update server, and put the actual .zip, .exe, .pkg, etc. behind object storage + CDN.

My picks

1. Hetzner — my default choice

Hetzner is extremely attractive if you're comfortable administering Linux yourself. Current comparisons show European instances with roughly 20 TB/month of included traffic, at substantially lower prices than comparable DigitalOcean instances. betterstack.com

For example, you could run:

• VPS: Nginx/Caddy + game API
• Object storage: game builds
• CDN: cache the downloads
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Cloudflare: DNS/WAF/cache in front

The catch for a US-based audience is important: Hetzner's US traffic allowance is much smaller than its European allowance, so don't assume the 20-TB European figure applies to an Ashburn/US server. betterstack.com

Hetzner Cloud

2. OVHcloud — if you're expecting enormous download traffic

OVH is worth considering when outbound bandwidth is the dominant cost. Some OVHcloud VPS offerings provide unmetered outgoing traffic, making the economics potentially much better than providers that meter every TB. dev.to

One caveat: OVHcloud has announced substantial September 2026 price increases on some gaming/dedicated-server configurations, so I'd price your specific configuration rather than assuming its historical bargain pricing still applies. www.techradar.com

OVHcloud VPS

3. DigitalOcean — easiest option, not the cheapest

DigitalOcean is my choice if you value a polished workflow over squeezing every dollar out of bandwidth. Its ecosystem includes managed databases, object storage/CDN, and lots of documentation. betterstack.com

But for a game where people are downloading 20–100 GB builds, its bundled transfer can become expensive compared with Hetzner or OVH. A current comparison puts a 2-vCPU/4-GB Droplet at $24/month with 4 TB transfer, versus substantially more included transfer on comparable Hetzner European instances. betterstack.com

DigitalOcean

What I'd actually build

For an indie game, I'd do:

Game client → CDN → object storage

and separately:

Game client → VPS → API/database

Don't have every player download a 30-GB game directly from your VPS.

For example:

                 ┌───────────────┐
                 │  Game Client  │
                 └───────┬───────┘
                         │
              ┌──────────┴──────────┐
              │                     │
          API calls              Downloads
              │                     │
        ┌─────▼─────┐        ┌──────▼──────┐
        │    VPS    │        │ CDN / Edge  │
        │ API/Auth  │        └──────┬──────┘
        └─────┬─────┘               │
              │              ┌──────▼──────┐
        ┌─────▼─────┐        │ Object      │
        │ PostgreSQL│        │ Storage     │
        └───────────┘        └─────────────┘

That architecture matters more than whether you choose Hetzner vs DigitalOcean. A CDN means one popular game build can be downloaded thousands of times without hammering your VPS.

Bottom line

If you want one VPS provider recommendation: Hetzner.

If you expect tens or hundreds of TB/month of game downloads: I'd use object storage + CDN, and choose the VPS based on API/compute needs rather than download bandwidth.

If you tell me roughly game size (e.g. 10/50/100 GB), expected players/downloads per month, and whether they're mostly US/EU/global, I can work out a concrete architecture and approximate monthly cost for Hetzner vs OVH vs DigitalOcean.

For an indie game developer, I’d separate your game/API server from your download hosting. Large game builds can turn a cheap VPS into a bandwidth bill—or bottleneck—very quickly.

My picks

If I were building an indie game

I'd probably do:

VPS

• Hetzner or OVHcloud
• Runs your website, API, authentication, matchmaking, update manifest, etc.
• 2–4 vCPU / 4–8 GB RAM is plenty to start.

Downloads

• Object storage
• CDN in front of it
• Versioned files such as game-1.2.0-windows.zip
• HTTP range requests enabled so interrupted downloads can resume.

This is much better than having thousands of players download a 20–50 GB game directly from your VPS.

If you want everything on one VPS

I'd choose OVHcloud for this particular workload. Its current VPS lineup advertises unlimited traffic with public bandwidth from 500 Mbps to 3 Gbps, including anti-DDoS protection. www.ovhcloud.com

For example, the current VPS-3 is advertised at $12.32/month, with 6 vCPUs, 12 GB RAM, 100 GB NVMe and 2 Gbps public bandwidth. www.ovhcloud.comwww.ovhcloud.com

That's unusually attractive for a download-heavy indie project.

One caveat: "unlimited traffic" doesn't mean unlimited speed. A 2 Gbps connection can theoretically move roughly 21.6 TB/day if saturated continuously, but your actual throughput will depend on the server, network path, and concurrent users.

Hetzner is also excellent, but its Cloud instances have included traffic quotas and charge for overage, making OVHcloud more attractive when bandwidth itself is the dominant resource. www.hetzner.comdocs.hetzner.com

My short answer:

• Cheap VPS for API/game services: Hetzner
• VPS directly serving huge downloads: OVHcloud
• Serious game distribution: VPS + object storage + CDN, rather than VPS-only

If you tell me roughly game size (e.g. 10/50/100 GB), expected players, and monthly downloads, I can work out which architecture would be cheapest at your scale.

For an indie game developer serving large game builds, I’d generally choose Hetzner—but I would not use the VPS itself as the primary download server if you expect serious traffic.

My recommendation

Hetzner is particularly compelling: its current Cloud offerings include 1 TB of traffic in US locations and at least 20 TB in EU locations, with additional US/EU traffic priced at about $1.20/TB. www.hetzner.com

For example, if your game is 20 GB:

• 1,000 downloads = 20 TB
• 5,000 downloads = 100 TB
• 10,000 downloads = 200 TB

At that point, bandwidth—not CPU/RAM—is your dominant hosting cost.

The architecture I'd actually use

I'd separate your game backend from your game files:

                 ┌──────────────────┐
Players ────────►│ CDN / file cache │
                 └────────┬─────────┘
                          │ cache miss
                          ▼
                 ┌──────────────────┐
                 │ Object storage   │
                 │ game builds      │
                 └──────────────────┘

Players ────────►┌──────────────────┐
                 │ Hetzner VPS      │
                 │ API / auth /     │
                 │ download logic   │
                 └──────────────────┘

Put things like:

• game ZIPs / installers
• patches
• DLC
• launcher updates
• large assets

in object storage + CDN, while the VPS handles your API, authentication, download authorization, telemetry, leaderboards, etc.

That way a surprise launch-day spike doesn't turn your $10 VPS into a bandwidth bottleneck.

If you insist on serving files directly from the VPS

I'd pick Hetzner, especially if your players are predominantly European. Hetzner says its Cloud hosts have redundant 10-Gbit connections, although Cloud bandwidth isn't guaranteed and they cite roughly 300–500 Mbit/s expected throughput. www.hetzner.com

For primarily US/North American players, I'd seriously consider Vultr because its broader geographic footprint can make it easier to put the origin closer to your audience. Vultr also charges $0.01/GB for bandwidth overages, so you should monitor traffic carefully. docs.vultr.com

One important distinction

If by "host large downloads" you mean something like:

My 5 GB game gets downloaded 10,000 times during a Steam-like launch.

Don't optimize around VPS CPU/RAM. Optimize around CDN/cache + egress cost.

If you tell me roughly game size + expected monthly downloads + where your players are (US/EU/global), I can calculate the approximate monthly cost for Hetzner vs Vultr vs object storage/CDN and recommend a concrete setup.

For an indie game developer hosting large game builds, patches, DLC, installers, mods, or asset downloads, I would not choose a VPS based mainly on CPU/RAM. Your bottleneck is usually egress bandwidth, storage throughput, and traffic spikes.

A good setup is often:

VPS for your API/auth/patch manifest + object storage/CDN for the actual game files.

That said, if you want a VPS doing the heavy lifting, these are the strongest options:

My picks by scenario

Small indie game (Steam/Epic/GOG, <10k players)

• VPS: Hetzner
• Storage: VPS + backups, or object storage
• Add a CDN later

Free demo going viral

• Avoid serving the ZIP/installer directly from your VPS
• Put builds in:
  • Cloudflare R2
  • Amazon S3
  • Backblaze B2
• Put a CDN in front

Worldwide audience

• Vultr or a multi-region CDN setup
• Keep your backend separate from downloads

Very large downloads (20GB+ games)
I would generally not host the files on a VPS. Example:

Game Client Files
        |
        v
Object Storage
        |
        v
CDN
        |
        v
Players

VPS:
- login API
- patch manifest
- launcher API
- telemetry
- matchmaking services

This prevents a Steam launch-style spike from taking down your API.

Rough sizing examples

Launcher + patch server

• 2–4 vCPU
• 4–8 GB RAM
• 50–200 GB NVMe
• 1 Gbps networking

Download server for a 5GB game with 10,000 downloads

• Traffic: ~50 TB
• A normal VPS bandwidth allowance can be consumed quickly.

My default recommendation for an indie developer

1. Hetzner VPS for backend services
2. Cloudflare R2 or S3-compatible storage for builds
3. Cloudflare CDN in front
4. Generate signed download URLs if you need private builds

That architecture is usually cheaper and much more resilient than buying a huge VPS. wikiwalls.com

If you tell me:

• game size (MB/GB),
• expected downloads/month,
• player locations,
• whether this is Steam-only or your own launcher,

I can estimate the monthly hosting cost.

For an indie game developer hosting large game downloads, patches, installers, DLC, mods, or launcher updates, I would usually not put the files directly on a normal VPS. A good architecture is:

• VPS: API, launcher backend, auth, update manifests, patch generation jobs
• Object storage + CDN: actual game files and downloads

That avoids a single VPS becoming a bandwidth bottleneck or getting a huge bill during a launch spike.

Best options by scenario

My picks for an indie game

1. Small-to-medium indie (most common)

Use: Hetzner VPS + Cloudflare CDN + object storage

Example setup:

• Hetzner VPS ($5–20/mo range)
  • game API
  • launcher API
  • login/auth
  • patch manifest server
• Object storage:
  • Cloudflare R2, AWS S3, Backblaze B2, etc.
• CDN:
  • Cloudflare

Your VPS might handle thousands of API requests while the CDN handles terabytes of downloads.

2. Launch day with a 20–100 GB game

Avoid:

player → VPS → 100GB download

Prefer:

player → CDN edge → object storage
             |
             VPS (metadata only)

A 50 GB game downloaded by 20,000 players is 1 petabyte of transfer. A VPS bandwidth plan can disappear extremely quickly.

3. If you insist on VPS-only file hosting

My ranking:

1. Hetzner — best value if your audience is mainly North America/Europe and you can manage Linux. dev.tospeedtesthq.com
2. OVHcloud — better if you expect serious bandwidth or want dedicated hardware. us.ovhcloud.com
3. Vultr — good when regional server locations matter. dev.tospeedtesthq.com
4. DigitalOcean — nicest developer experience, but less attractive for pure bandwidth economics. vps.app

Game-specific things I would look for

• High monthly transfer allowance (TBs, not hundreds of GB)
• Fast storage (NVMe helps patch generation and builds)
• CDN integration
• Range request support (players need resume-able downloads)
• DDoS protection
• Object storage lifecycle rules (old builds, archived patches)

For most indie teams, I’d choose Hetzner VPS + Cloudflare R2/CDN unless you already expect a major launch spike, in which case I’d move downloads entirely behind a CDN from day one. vps.appspeedtesthq.com

If you tell me your expected game size, monthly downloads, player regions, and budget, I can estimate the bandwidth costs and suggest a concrete stack.

For an indie game, I’d pick OVHcloud VPS first if the main problem is large downloads and bandwidth cost. Their current VPS lineup offers unlimited traffic with public bandwidth up to 3 Gbps, which is unusually well suited to distributing multi-GB game builds without worrying about per-TB egress charges. www.ovhcloud.com

My ranking

🥇 OVHcloud

OVHcloud VPS

This is particularly attractive for an indie game because your bandwidth can become much more expensive than your compute.

For example, suppose your game is 20 GB and you have 10,000 downloads:

20 GB × 10,000 = ~200 TB of outbound traffic.

With a conventional cloud provider charging for egress, that can become a serious bill. OVHcloud's VPS offering currently advertises unlimited traffic and 500 Mbps–3 Gbps public bandwidth, depending on the plan. www.ovhcloud.com

I'd start with something around 2–4 vCPU / 4–8 GB RAM, unless you're also running the game backend on the same machine.

🥈 Hetzner

Hetzner Cloud

Hetzner is fantastic value. Its current Cloud plans include 20 TB/month at EU locations, while US locations have smaller included allowances depending on the plan; additional traffic is charged after the allowance. www.hetzner.com

So if you're doing, say, 2–10 TB/month, I'd seriously consider Hetzner.

If you're expecting 50–200+ TB/month, OVHcloud's unmetered model becomes much more compelling.

One important architectural recommendation

I wouldn't actually make the VPS your download server if you're expecting your game to become popular.

A better setup is:

Game launcher → CDN/object storage → game files

and separately:

Game launcher → VPS → API/auth/update manifest

For example:

• VPS: API, authentication, version manifest, matchmaking/backend
• Object storage: .zip, .pak, .exe, .dmg, patches
• CDN: distributes those files close to players
• Your VPS: stays relatively small and inexpensive

That way a sudden Steam/Reddit/TikTok/etc. spike doesn't hammer your application server.

For a small indie game, though, OVH VPS + Nginx serving static files directly is perfectly reasonable initially. You can migrate the actual downloads to object storage/CDN once traffic justifies it.

Bottom line:

• <10 TB/month: Hetzner is hard to beat on price.
• 10–100+ TB/month: OVHcloud is my pick.
• Huge global launch: VPS + CDN/object storage rather than VPS-only.
• Game server + downloads on one machine: don't do this once you have meaningful traffic; separate them.

If you tell me roughly game size + expected downloads/month + where your players are (US/EU/global), I can calculate what the monthly bandwidth bill would look like on OVHcloud vs Hetzner vs DigitalOcean.

For an indie game developer, I’d pick OVHcloud VPS first if your main problem is large game downloads and lots of outbound bandwidth.

The key distinction is that you probably don’t want a VPS doing everything. Your game server/API and your download distribution have very different requirements.

My ranking

Why OVHcloud stands out

OVHcloud VPS plans currently advertise unlimited traffic with network speeds ranging from 500 Mbps to 3 Gbps depending on the VPS. Their US VPS offerings specifically include unlimited traffic and up to 3 Gbps. www.ovhcloud.com

For example, their current VPS lineup includes:

• VPS-1: 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM / 40 GB NVMe / 500 Mbps
• VPS-2: 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 75 GB / 1 Gbps
• VPS-3: 6 vCPU / 12 GB / 100 GB / 2 Gbps
• VPS-4: 8 vCPU / 24 GB / 200 GB / 3 Gbps

The listed starting prices are roughly $4.54–$23.37/month, although pricing can vary by location and configuration. www.ovhcloud.com

That's unusually attractive if, say, your game is a 10 GB download and suddenly 5,000 people want it.

Hetzner is my second choice

Hetzner Cloud is excellent if you want cheap compute and substantial bandwidth. Hetzner documents 20 TB of included traffic for many European cloud configurations, while US configurations have plan-dependent allowances; outbound traffic beyond the included amount is billed. docs.hetzner.com

So if you're expecting, for example:

5 TB/month → Hetzner is fantastic.
20+ TB/month → I'd start looking harder at OVHcloud.
100+ TB/month → I'd seriously consider separating downloads from your VPS entirely.

The architecture I'd actually use

For an indie game, I'd build it roughly like:

VPS
→ game API
→ authentication
→ matchmaking
→ telemetry
→ update manifest
→ database/cache

Object storage/CDN
→ .exe / .zip / .dmg / patches
→ DLC
→ large assets
→ game updates

Don't make your VPS serve 20 GB game installers directly unless there's a good reason.

A better setup is:

Game client → CDN → object storage

while:

Game client → VPS → API/auth/update metadata

That way a game launch doesn't bring down your API because 10,000 clients are simultaneously downloading a 15 GB patch.

One important trick

If your game is distributed through Steam, Epic, itch.io, etc., let the platform handle the actual game distribution whenever possible. Your VPS then only needs to handle your website, API, launcher services, authentication, and possibly private/test builds.

If you're doing your own launcher, I'd lean toward OVHcloud VPS + object storage/CDN, rather than buying a gigantic VPS purely for disk and bandwidth.

Bottom line:
OVHcloud if bandwidth is your dominant concern → Hetzner if you want the best general price/performance → DigitalOcean if simplicity/developer experience matters more than bandwidth economics.

If you tell me roughly game size + expected monthly downloads + where your players are (US/EU/global), I can work out a concrete ~$20/$50/$100-per-month architecture and estimate how many downloads each could handle.

If your main problem is large game downloads + lots of outbound bandwidth, I would not use a VPS as the download server. Use a VPS for your API/game backend, and object storage/CDN for the actual game files.

My recommendation

Best indie setup: Cloudflare R2 + a small VPS

• Game files: Cloudflare R2
• Backend/API: Hetzner, DigitalOcean, or Vultr VPS
• Downloads: R2 → Cloudflare's network → players
• Database: PostgreSQL on the VPS initially, or managed DB later

The big advantage is that R2 has no Internet egress charge. Standard storage is currently $0.015/GB-month, with Class B reads at $0.36/million requests. developers.cloudflare.com

For example, if you have a 20 GB game and 10,000 players download it in a month, that's roughly 200 TB of outbound traffic. Paying VPS bandwidth rates for that is painful; avoiding egress charges becomes enormously valuable.

If you really want a VPS serving the files

I'd look at these:

DigitalOcean, for example, includes outbound transfer with Droplets but charges $0.01/GiB beyond the included allowance. docs.digitalocean.comdocs.vultr.comdocs.hetzner.com

Vultr similarly provides bandwidth allocations and charges $0.01/GB for overages. docs.vultr.com

Hetzner is particularly attractive when you want to push a lot of data directly from a server because its plans include substantial traffic allowances; its documentation gives examples of servers with 20 TB included traffic and explains overage billing. docs.hetzner.com

What I'd actually build

                  ┌───────────────┐
                  │   Players     │
                  └───────┬───────┘
                          │
                   game download
                          │
                 ┌────────▼────────┐
                 │  Cloudflare R2  │
                 │   game builds   │
                 └─────────────────┘

                          │
                    API requests
                          │
                 ┌────────▼────────┐
                 │   VPS           │
                 │                 │
                 │ auth            │
                 │ matchmaking    │
                 │ leaderboards   │
                 │ game API       │
                 └─────────────────┘

This also makes releasing patches much easier. Upload game-1.2.0.zip/installer to R2 and have your launcher download it directly rather than funneling hundreds of gigabytes through your application server.

One important caveat: if you're distributing very large files (e.g. 50–100+ GB games) and expect millions of downloads, I'd also evaluate a dedicated CDN/download-delivery service rather than putting the entire distribution system on R2.

If you tell me roughly game size, expected monthly downloads, and whether you're distributing through Steam/itch.io/your own launcher, I can calculate the approximate monthly cost for Hetzner vs Vultr vs R2/CDN.