When you save games on Steam, there are a few destinations where they will be saved. They can be saved locally in your documents, or remotely saved in the cloud.
Whether you want to delete old saved games, see what type of save data you have, or copy the save data to an external hard drive, there are plenty of reasons why you may need to know where Steam saves your games.
This guide is going to go through the different locations where Steam may be saving your games, and help you understand each option a little better.
Contents
Key Takeaways
- Steam will save your games either locally on your computer, or in the cloud.
- Make sure to back up your save games (if not using Steam Cloud) to make sure they are protected in case of computer failure.
Documents
The first place where Steam can save your games is simply in your Documents folder. Browsing your local files will eventually allow you to locate and see all of the different games that you have saved.
Unfortunately, trying to find the saved game of your choosing can be challenging, as the location of the data can be different from game to game, and the search can often be anything but quick and easy.
However, there is thankfully a simple path that can allow you to easily and quickly find the Steam save games on your PC, Mac, or Linux computer. On a PC, your files will be stored here: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata.
On the Mac, you will find them here: ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/userdata. If you have a Linux computer, they can be found here: ~/.local/share/Steam/userdata.
This destination can be changed if you wish, but these are the default locations where Steam will save your games locally. We also recommend you back up your games if you only keep them in your documents, in case of computer failure.
Steam Cloud
Steam also has a cloud save option for those who prefer that over saving games locally. Steam Cloud allows you to save games, saved data, settings and more, on the cloud. This allows you to play your game on any device as long as you are online, and can sync your saves.
Also, using the cloud keeps save data off of your computer, and ensures it will remain safe if something were to happen to your device. Of course, for this to work you need to make sure that you have Steam Cloud enabled.
To check if it is enabled, simply go to the Cloud tab of the Settings window in Steam, and make sure “Enable Steam Cloud Sync for applications that support it” is toggled on.
There is also the option to enable or disable this feature for individual games. To do this, simply right click on any game and select Properties. Next, you toggle the Cloud Synchronization setting from under the General tab.
Also, be aware that not all games will be able to be saved on the cloud. Developers can completely customize how Steam Cloud is used for their game. If a game uses Steam Cloud, it will have the Steam Cloud logo on the store page.
FAQs
Here are a few questions about Steam game saves, along with their answers.
How to backup Steam games?
It is always a good idea to back up your documents, media, and games in case something happens to your computer. Backing up Steam games is as simple as using the built-in Steam Backup feature, or simply dragging and dropping the files to your own USB drive.
Will uninstalling Steam games delete the save data?
In many cases, uninstalling a Steam game won’t cause you to lose your saves. This is because the games themselves and the save data are often kept in different locations. So if you want to get rid of a game for one reason or another, you can rest assured your saves will be safe.
However, be aware that some games (especially older ones) will keep save data in the same place as game files, so deleting these games will also delete the saves, as well.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many different destinations where Steam may be saving your games. It is a good idea to know where your game saves are so you can not only make backups, but also check which games you have saved on your computer.
Is there something you feel that we missed in this guide that would have made it better? If so, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment below.
