While the phrase "steam cloud" may conjure up images of a boiling kettle or an old-timey train, when it comes to video games it's a killer characteristic of the largest PC gaming platform. If y'all game on Steam, you'll definitely want to know how to utilize Steam Cloud game saves. When things get wrong, you'll exist glad your precious hours of progress are safely stored where no one can delete them.

What Are Steam Cloud Saves?

Games that yous purchase and download through Steam can upload and download salvage game files to Steam'southward servers. In other words, if you lose your computer's data, prepare a new computer or play your Steam games on multiple computers, you can retrieve your latest save game via the internet.

When you uninstall a game and then reinstall it at a later date, your save games volition be restored every bit well. In general, Steam Deject saves permit yous forget about your relieve data and just get on with gaming.

Does Every Game Back up Steam Cloud Saves?

Not every game on Steam supports deject saves. This is something that'due south left upwards to the programmer. All games don't work the same either. Developers get to cull what data is uploaded and what isn't. If you want to know if a Steam game supports cloud saves, simply go to its store page and check if the Steam Cloud logo is under the list of game features.

Ensuring Cloud Saves Are Active for Your Game

It's possible to disable deject saves for all games on a given Steam computer. You can besides enable or disable the feature for individual games as well. If your game supports Steam Cloud saves only isn't syncing, y'all can check if the feature is enabled with ease.

To cheque the global cloud save settings:

  1. Open Steam.
  2. Select Steam > Settings.
  3. Switch to the Deject tab.
  4. Ensure that Enable Steam Cloud synchronization for applications which back up information technology is toggled to your preference.
  1. Select OK.

To check deject relieve status for private games:

  1. Open up Steam.
  2. Go to your Steam library.

[four Steam Library 1.jpg]

  1. Correct-click on the game in question.
  2. Select Properties.
  1. Switch to the General tab.
  2. Cheque that cloud synchronization is toggled co-ordinate to your preference.

Once again, non all games accept the Steam Deject salvage characteristic, so if you don't encounter that choice for an private game, it probably doesn't support it. We encourage you to make manual backups of your salvage game data in that case.

Finding Downloaded Steam Deject Saves on Your PC

Speaking of making transmission backups,you can really admission the local re-create of your deject saves on the local motorcar. Equally long as you know the binder locations, of course:

  • PC: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata
  • Mac: ~/Library/Application Back up/Steam/userdata
  • Linux: ~/.local/share/Steam/userdata

Merely recollect that these are the default locations where cloud save data is stored locally. If y'all specified a custom binder when you installed Steam, you demand to get to that folder instead.

Within these folders, you lot'll find the saves stored co-ordinate to Steam App ID. This is a unique number that corresponds with a game'southward catalogue number in the Steam shop. You can easily observe which ID goes with which game past entering the ID number on SteamDB.

What to Do with Steam Cloud Save Conflicts

Sometimes, you'll become an error bulletin from Steam that there's a conflict between the relieve game stored on your local computer and the 1 that Steam has on their server. This unremarkably happens because you lot progressed on two different versions of the same save game file.

Virtually of the time, the right selection is simply to pick the most recently modified version of the file, merely in some cases that may actually not be the save you desire. Simply to exist safe, we recommend choosing to abolish the cloud sync conflict the first fourth dimension you meet information technology.

Now go make a backup of the local file using the folder locations we just discussed in the previous section. If it turns out that the local files were the ones that you should have kept, you can get dorsum and replace them manually.

Manually Download Your Steam Deject Saves

Another neat option is the ability to view and download your Deject Sync files using a spider web browser. Simply become to the View Steam Cloud and log into your Steam account if you aren't already.

Hither yous can see every private game file that's stored in your Steam Deject Sync account. All you have to do is select the download button and y'all have a copy for yourself. This is useful for using salvage files with other versions of a game and to quickly make a backup of the cloud files earlier they are removed in a sync conflict resolution equally we just saw.

Just bear in listen that more than save game files are stored hither. Developers may cull to store other data, such as game configuration files, right alongside your saves. So make sure you lot're downloading the right thing!

How to Prepare the "Steam Was Unable to Sync" and Other Bug

The last fleck of crucial information you need to get along well with Steam Cloud saves is what to do when things go wrong. Hither are some general tips:

  • Check the Steam home page to see if their servers are down.
  • Restart your modems, routers and computer.
  • Connect to a dissimilar network.
  • Bank check your firewall and antivirus settings.
  • Disable any software that monitors or modifies network traffic to cheque for conflicts.
  • Disable your VPN, Steam doesn't like them and they can get you lot banned.

Now you're armed with all the knowledge you need to become the most out of the Steam Cloud save characteristic. Which means you can get dorsum to the all-important job of enjoying your video games.