You’ve backed up your save files. Now you’ve reinstalled Windows, got a new PC, or just reinstalled a game — and you want your progress back. Restoring isn’t just dropping files into a folder. Do it in the wrong order and the game overwrites your backup with a blank save.

Here’s the correct process for each major launcher.

The Rule That Applies to All Launchers

Always launch the game once before restoring a backup.

Launching creates the directory structure the game expects. If you paste your backup into a path that doesn’t exist yet, the game ignores it or crashes. Launch → quit immediately → then restore.

Restoring Steam Saves

If Steam Cloud was enabled: Steam will sync your save automatically after you install the game and log in. Launch the game — if prompted about a save conflict, choose “Use Cloud Save”.

For locally backed-up saves:

  1. Install the game through Steam
  2. Launch it once, then quit
  3. Open the save folder (press Win + R, type the path, press Enter):
    • %APPDATA%\[GameName]\
    • %LOCALAPPDATA%\[GameName]\
    • Documents\My Games\[GameName]\
    • C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\[SteamID]\[AppID]\remote\
  4. Delete or rename the newly created save folder
  5. Paste your backup folder into the same location
  6. Relaunch the game

The game should load your backed-up progress.

Restoring Epic Games Saves

  1. Install the game through the Epic Games Launcher
  2. Launch once and quit
  3. Navigate to:
    • %LOCALAPPDATA%\[GameName]\Saved\SaveGames\
    • Documents\My Games\[GameName]\
  4. Replace the folder contents with your backup
  5. Relaunch

If the game uses Epic Cloud Saves, it may push the cloud version on first launch. Disable cloud sync before restoring a local backup to prevent overwrites.

Restoring EA App Saves

  1. Install through the EA App
  2. Launch once and quit
  3. Navigate to:
    • Documents\EA Games\[GameName]\
    • %APPDATA%\EA Games\[GameName]\
  4. Replace the folder contents with your backup
  5. Relaunch

EA Cloud Saves may sync on launch — if that’s a concern, disconnect from the internet before first launch, restore the backup, then reconnect.

Restoring GOG Saves

  1. Install through GOG Galaxy
  2. Launch once and quit
  3. Navigate to:
    • %APPDATA%\[GameName]\
    • Documents\My Games\[GameName]\
  4. Replace with your backup
  5. Relaunch

Troubleshooting: Save Not Loading After Restore

Wrong folder: The save file is in the right directory but the game uses a subfolder. Check one level deeper inside the save folder.

Wrong Steam user ID: If you restored from a different account, the userdata path includes your SteamID. Make sure the folder structure matches your current account.

Cloud overwrite: The launcher synced a newer (blank) cloud save before you could restore. Solution: disable cloud sync for that game, restore locally, then re-enable cloud sync and upload the local save.

Save belongs to a different version: Some games (especially older ones patched heavily) don’t accept saves from a much older version. Usually the game tells you this on load.

Find the Exact Save Path for Your Game

Not sure which folder your game uses? Look it up directly.

Find your game’s save location →