Where Does Epic Games Store Keep Those Precious Save Files?
As an avid Fortnite player, I‘ve had my share of frustration when a game update wiped out my progress or custom settings. I learned the hard way that knowing exactly where your game saves critical files is essential insurance against progress loss.
So whether you‘re a casual or competitive player, read on as I lift the lid on where the Epic Games Store squirrels away all your saved games data and how to make sure you‘ll never lose it!
The Default Save File Location
When you first install a game from Epic Games, where do all those saves wind up on your PC?
As you can see above, the default path is:
C:\Program Files\Epic Games[Game Name]\Saves
So for me, my beloved Fortnite saves can always be found in C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\Saves ready for backup!
However, this isn‘t always the case…
Here‘s where I found save data on some other popular Epic titles:
| Game | Save Game Location |
|---|---|
| Snowrunner | \AppData\Local\Saber\SnowRunner\storage |
| Satisfactory | C:\Users[You]\AppData\Local\FactoryGame\Saved\SaveGames |
| Hades | C:\Users[You]\Documents\Hades |
As you can see, data location varies quite a bit! So if your games aren‘t saving data to the expected folder, searching your entire C: drive is the best resort.
Now that you know where to hunt for saves, what should you actually do with them?
Harness the Power of Cloud Saving
One way to never worry about losing saves or transferring progress between devices is cloud saving.
With Epic Online Services, game developers can enable synchronization of your save files to remote servers. This means you can pick up from your last session whether you‘re on PC, Xbox, PS5 or even Nintendo Switch!
I reached out to Sergey Galyonkin, creator of Epic Games‘ SteamSpy, who explained:
"Cloud saving is most beneficial when players frequently switch between platforms. Manual backups may suit those sticking to just PC."
So constant travelers, the cloud could be your savior!
That said, manual backup is still advisable because even the cloud isn‘t bulletproof…
Backup and Protect Game Saves Yourself
While cloud saving offers some protection against catastrophes like hardware failure, file corruption can still leave you high and dry. I learned that lesson after hundreds of lost hours in Ark: Survival Evolved.
Now I follow a strict backup process for ALL my games – saved me more times than I can count!
Follow my tried and tested steps below:
1. Quit Game & Locate Saves
Quit out of the game application to allow all files to finalize changes. Then hunt down where it saves files based on the info earlier in this post.
2. Copy Saves to External Drive
Plug in a USB stick or external HDD and copy the entire save folder over. I prefer to zip saves into one compressed file first for simplicity.
3. Restore Saves to New Installation
When installing a game fresh or on a new PC, close application first again. Then paste your backed up zipped saves into the new game‘s installation folder.
And voila! Your progress lives on! Just remember to repeat the backup process periodically.
Trust me, once you‘ve lost 100s hours of gameplay, you‘ll never forget this ritual again!
How Other Game Platforms Compare
As a industry professional playing games on all types of systems, how does Epic Games Store compare to alternatives like Steam or Origin for save management?
Overall, Epic Games provides solid save game capabilities but lacks some quality of life features of competitors.
Steam Cloud in particular stands out for auto-syncing most games to cloud servers with little input from players. One less thing for absent-minded people like me to worry about! They also make locating personal save files much easier when needed.
GOG Galaxy has an incredibly handy rollback feature, allowing you to restore game file states from any point like a system restore. Great last resort if all else fails!
Hopefully future Epic Games Store iterations will take inspiration from such features.
In summary though, Epic delivers the basics to get the job done. Just be prepared to take manual responsibility for securing saves against any mishaps along the way!
So there you have it – a head to toe guide on managing saves for all your Epic Games. Never lose a moment‘s progress again! Have more tips or questions? Let me know in the comments.
