That is exactly what I did. Several times. And it's still 14.2. I think I'm going to do a clean install and see if that helps, rather than update an existing install.
Update: Did install with steamcmd into empty directory:
login anonymous
force_install_dir /home1/sda20rwg
app_update 294420 --beta latest_experimental
Start server. Telnet in:
*** Connected with 7DTD server.
*** Server version: Alpha 20.4 (b42) Compatibility Version: Alpha 20.4
*** Dedicated server only build
Steamcmd is most definitely downloading A20.4, not A20.5.
Try including your path in the command. Like this:
steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir "D:\servers\7 Days to Die" +app_update 294420 -validate -beta latest_experimental +quit
Replace my path with yours.
I could, but I've been doing it like this for years. Many years. And it's always worked. Just for SNG, I did this:
./steamcmd.sh +login anonymous +force_install_dir /home1/sda20rwg +app_update 294420 -validate -beta latest_experimental +quit
And it worked. What the hell? Since when does the following in a script file no longer work? I've done it like this for years.
login anonymous
force_install_dir /home1/sda20rwg
app_update 294420 --beta latest_experimental -validate