Multiple worlds on one Minecraft serverSurvival, creative and minigames side by side

Published on October 20, 2026

Why vanilla can only handle one world

The value level-name in server.properties names exactly one world folder. The Nether and the End belong to it, but count as dimensions of the same world, not as separate worlds.

You can change level-name and thus start a different world - but only one at a time, and switching requires a restart. For several worlds reachable at the same time, there is no way around an extension.

The usual route: Multiverse

On a Paper or Spigot server, Multiverse-Core is the common solution. It loads several worlds in parallel and lets players switch via command.

1. Install the plugin - the process is described in Install plugins & mods.
2. Restart the server so that the plugin is loaded.
3. Create a new world or import an existing one.
4. Switch between the worlds via command.

You bring an existing world onto the server via SFTP and then import it - uploading is described in Upload your own world.

The most important point: separate inventories

This is where the most common disappointment lies. Multiverse-Core alone does not separate inventories. Without an add-on, players take their gear from the creative world into the survival world - which devalues all progress there.

So that inventory, experience, health and game mode stay separate per world, you need an additional inventory management plugin. It must be set up before the creative world is opened for the first time - turning back afterwards is hard.

• Define world groups: what shares an inventory, what does not?
• Enforce the game mode per world instead of leaving it to the players.
• Check beforehand with a test account whether the separation really works.

How to tell that the separation does not work

Missing separation is rarely noticed immediately - it is noticed when the damage is already done. You should know these four signs before you open the second world to everyone:

• Gear travels along. Someone comes back from the creative world with a full diamond set - then inventory management is not working, or the world is in the wrong world group.
• The game mode sticks. Whoever built in creative keeps building in survival with unlimited blocks. This always happens when the mode is not enforced per world but only set once.
• Ender chest and experience are shared. Both belong in the same rule decision as the inventory and are the things most often overlooked during setup.
• Everyone can go everywhere. Without permission management, the switch command is open to all. If you do not want that, you also need a permissions plugin - the basics are covered in Become OP & admin rights.

Test this with a second account, not your own: as an operator, depending on the configuration, you bypass exactly the rules you actually want to check. If you run a creative world next to a survival world, also take a look at Griefing protection - the same tools that protect builds also limit who may change what where.

What multiple worlds cost

Every loaded world keeps its spawn chunks permanently active - even if nobody is in it. So the requirement adds up:

• Allow a noticeable amount of memory for each additional world - guideline values in How much RAM does a server need?.
• Unload old, no longer used worlds instead of leaving them loaded.
• Set the view distance in secondary worlds lower than in the main world.

If the tick rate suffers, Improve lag and TPS helps you find the cause.

Back up, unload, delete

Every world is its own folder in the server directory, and a world's Nether and End sit next to it as further folders. For backups, this means: the world folder alone is no longer enough once several worlds are in play. Take all folders that belong together - backups are self-service with us throughout, via SFTP and the WebFTP file manager; the process is described in Create backups.

When removing a world, the order matters. A folder you delete while the server still has it loaded is partly rewritten on the next save. What remains is half a world folder that nobody can do anything with.

1. Unload the world in the plugin and remove it from its configuration.
2. Stop the server.
3. Download the folder and only delete it afterwards.
4. Start the server and check in the console that it no longer looks for a world that no longer exists.

If you do not want to get rid of a world but just start fresh, Reset the world is the more suitable route. And if a secondary world is only needed temporarily - for an event, for example - there is nothing against leaving it unloaded in between and keeping the folder: storage costs nothing, loaded chunks cost memory.

When a network is the better choice

Beyond a certain size, a network with a proxy is cleaner than one server with many worlds:

Rule of thumb: two to three worlds for a manageable community are a case for Multiverse. A minigame network with its own lobby concept is a case for the proxy.

Frequently asked questions