Plutonium Server Hosting: BO1, BO2, MW3, and WaW Explained

Plutonium is an open-source, community-developed project that lets people who already own the original game run private dedicated servers for older Call of Duty titles the publisher no longer operates online services for. Its own tagline says it plainly: "BO1, BO2, MW3, WaW redefined." That's the complete list — exactly four titles. Plutonium does not support Black Ops 3, Modern Warfare 2, or COD4, despite what you might read elsewhere.

Plutonium is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Activision. It checks client-side that you own a legitimate copy of the game before it will run, and Nxeon never provides, sells, or distributes any of these games — you always bring your own legally-owned copy and upload it over SFTP after your server deploys.

The four titles, side by side

| Plutonium name | Game | Default port | Typical use | |---|---|---|---| | T4 | World at War | 28960/UDP | Classic pub servers, usermaps | | T5 | Black Ops | 28960/UDP | Same engine family as T4 | | T6 | Black Ops II | 4976/UDP | Zombies (most popular) or Multiplayer | | IW5 | Modern Warfare 3 | 27016/UDP | Multiplayer pub servers |

All four run on Nxeon through the same community-maintained Plutainer Docker image, configured per title through environment variables — one consistent setup, one consistent ownership story, across the whole family.

The one rule that applies to all four

You must already own the game. Plutonium enforces this itself and refuses to run without a legitimate copy. Nxeon hosts the infrastructure — the VM, the network, DDoS protection, and the open-source Plutonium server software — and nothing more. We never source, host, or distribute Call of Duty game files, maps, or assets for any of the four titles.

You'll also need a free Plutonium Server Key from your own account at plutonium.pw — this is a per-server authentication token, not a game license, and every Plutonium server on any host needs one regardless of which of the four titles it runs.

T6 (Black Ops II): Zombies or Multiplayer

T6 is currently the most in-demand Plutonium title in the community, largely for its Zombies mode. Our T6 servers default to Zombies (dedicated_zm.cfg) but you can switch to Multiplayer (dedicated.cfg) at any time by editing your server's game config and restarting — it's a one-line change, not a different product. Zombies mode realistically supports far fewer concurrent players than Multiplayer, which is why our Zombies-sized plan is smaller than the Multiplayer tiers.

Setup steps (same shape for all four)

1. Deploy a plan for whichever title you want — the VM and Plutainer server software provision within minutes.
2. Generate your Server Key at plutonium.pw.
3. Upload your own legally-owned game files over SFTP into the server's gamefiles/ folder.
4. Configure and start — edit the title's config file with your Server Key, then start the server from your dashboard.

FAQ

Does Plutonium support Black Ops 3? No. Despite being a popular assumption, Plutonium's supported catalog is exactly WaW, Black Ops, Black Ops II, and Modern Warfare 3 — nothing else, and never a current/actively-monetized Call of Duty title.

Is Nxeon affiliated with Activision or the Call of Duty franchise? No, for any of these four titles. Nxeon hosts infrastructure and the open-source Plutonium/Plutainer server software only.

Can I run custom maps or mods on any of these? Yes — full file/SFTP access on every title, though there's no one-click installer since Plutonium's mod ecosystem is entirely community-run.

Which title should I pick? T6 (BO2) if you want Zombies or the most active current community; T4/T5 if you want the lightest, cheapest classic pub-server experience; IW5 (MW3) if Modern Warfare 3 is what your group actually played.

Ready to deploy? See Plutonium T4 (WaW), T5 (BO1), T6 (BO2), or IW5 (MW3) hosting for current plans and pricing.