Last updated: March 2026
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of shrug.games (“we”, “us”, “our”) and the game server hosting services we provide. By creating an account or using our services, you agree to these Terms.
1. Who can use shrug.games
You must be at least 13 years old to use our services. If you’re under 18, you need permission from a parent or guardian, and they agree to be responsible for your use of the service.
We may ask for verification of age or parental consent at our discretion.
2. Your account
You’re responsible for keeping your account credentials secure. Don’t share your password. If you think someone else has access to your account, let us know immediately at support@shrug.games.
One account per person. Don’t create multiple accounts to abuse trials, refunds, or promotions.
3. What we provide
We provide game server hosting on shared or dedicated infrastructure. This includes:
- Server provisioning and configuration
- Automated backups (frequency varies by plan)
- Basic monitoring and uptime management
- Access to server controls via our panel
We aim for high availability but don’t guarantee 100% uptime. Games crash, hardware fails, and the internet is weird sometimes. We’ll do our best to fix issues quickly.
4. Billing and subscriptions
We use Stripe to process payments. By subscribing, you authorize us to charge your payment method on a recurring basis until you cancel.
- Billing cycle: Monthly, charged on your subscription anniversary date
- Price changes: We’ll notify you at least 30 days before any price increase. You can cancel if you don’t agree to the new price.
- Failed payments: If a payment fails, we’ll retry a few times. If it keeps failing, we may suspend your server until payment is resolved.
Grandfathered rates
When we offer promotional or discounted pricing during a specific period, customers who sign up at that rate and maintain an active subscription are guaranteed that rate for as long as their subscription remains active. Your rate won’t increase just because we raise prices for new customers.
If we ever need to change this policy or discontinue a grandfathered rate, we’ll provide at least one year’s notice before the change takes effect. This would be rare and only done if absolutely necessary.
To keep your grandfathered rate, your subscription must stay active. If you cancel and resubscribe later, you’ll pay the current rate at that time.
See our Refund Policy for information on cancellations and refunds.
5. Acceptable use
Don’t use our servers for anything illegal or harmful. See our Acceptable Use Policy for the full list of rules.
We can suspend or terminate your service immediately if you violate the AUP. Serious violations (illegal activity, attacks on other systems) may result in termination without refund.
6. Your data and content
You own your game data, configurations, and any content you upload. We don’t claim ownership of your stuff.
We may access your server data for:
- Providing support you’ve requested
- Troubleshooting technical issues
- Investigating AUP violations
- Complying with legal requirements
We won’t sell your data or use it for advertising. See our Privacy Policy for details.
7. Service changes and discontinuation
We may modify, suspend, or discontinue services at any time. If we discontinue a service you’re paying for, we’ll give you at least 30 days notice and either:
- A prorated refund for unused time, or
- The option to switch to a comparable service at your current rate (or a discount if exact rate matching isn’t possible)
We’re a small team and games come and go. If we stop supporting a particular game, we’ll let you know with enough time to export your data.
8. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law:
- Our services are provided “as is” without warranties of any kind
- We’re not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages
- Our total liability is limited to the amount you’ve paid us in the 12 months before the claim
This doesn’t limit liability for things that can’t be limited by law (like fraud or gross negligence).
9. Events beyond our control
We’re not liable for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control. This includes natural disasters, power outages, internet infrastructure failures, cyberattacks, pandemics, government actions, or failures by third-party providers (like Hetzner or Stripe).
When these events occur, we’ll make reasonable efforts to restore service as quickly as possible and keep you informed.
10. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify us against claims arising from your use of the service, your content, or your violation of these Terms. Basically: if you do something that gets us sued, you’re responsible for it.
11. Dispute resolution
We’d rather work things out directly. If you have a problem, email support@shrug.games first.
If we can’t resolve it informally, disputes will be settled by binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Arbitration will take place in Massachusetts.
Exception: Either party can bring claims in small claims court (up to $10,000) without going through arbitration.
No class actions: You agree to bring claims only in your individual capacity, not as part of a class action.
12. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to conflict of law principles.
13. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. We’ll post the new version here and update the “Last updated” date. If we make significant changes, we’ll notify you by email.
Continued use after changes means you accept the new Terms.
14. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Email legal@shrug.games.