Free Hamachi and Radmin alternative launches on Steam, letting you play LAN games online without router setup

A free utility called Porthole has officially launched on Steam, allowing players to enjoy LAN-only games with friends over the internet. Designed as an alternative to Hamachi and Radmin, the app uses Steam's networking infrastructure and doesn't require port forwarding, a public IP address, or any router configuration.

Porthole is built to make remote LAN play as simple as possible. Users create a lobby, select a local TCP or UDP port (or let the app detect it automatically), and invite friends via Steam or a short invite code. On the guest's PC, the corresponding local port is opened automatically, making the game think both players are connected to the same local network.

Unlike traditional VPN solutions such as Hamachi or Radmin, Porthole doesn't create a virtual LAN between computers. Instead, it only exposes the specific ports the host chooses to share. Each shared port must also be individually approved by the guest, meaning no access is granted to other devices, services, or files.

According to the developers, all traffic is routed through Steam's networking system. Depending on connection quality, Porthole automatically switches between direct P2P connections and Valve's relay servers to deliver low latency and stable performance, even behind NAT or CGNAT.

The utility supports both TCP and UDP connections, can automatically detect the ports used by running games and applications, allows password-protected lobbies, and includes host-side kick and ban features. It's available for Windows, Linux, and SteamOS.

The creators also note that Porthole isn't limited to LAN co-op games. It can be used to host personal game servers, including Minecraft worlds, or securely expose any local TCP or UDP service to trusted users.

Porthole is completely free to use and is now available on Steam.

Recently, Steam also hit a new milestone, with 16 GB of VRAM becoming the most common configuration among users for the first time.

Have you ever used Hamachi or Radmin to play with friends, or do you prefer games with built-in online multiplayer?