How To Delete Game Saves On Steam

How to Delete Game Saves on Steam

Okay, let’s talk about game saves. You know, those little files that keep track of how far you’ve gotten in a game? Sometimes, you might want to start fresh, or maybe a save file got corrupted, and you need to say goodbye to it. Deleting game saves on Steam isn’t always as simple as hitting a delete button, but don’t worry, we’ll go through all the steps together. There are a few different ways games save data, and that changes how you delete them. We’ll tackle each method so you’ll become a pro at managing your game data.

Understanding How Steam Games Save Data

Before we jump into deleting things, it’s important to understand that games use different ways to store your progress. Steam itself doesn’t have a universal “delete save” button for all games. Instead, games handle saves in a couple main ways:

• Local Saves: These saves are stored directly on your computer. You’ll find them in folders, usually in the game’s installation directory or within your “Documents” folder. These are the ones that can sometimes be tricky to find.
• Steam Cloud Saves: Many games use Steam Cloud, which is like a backup for your save files stored online on Steam’s servers. This is great because it means you can move between computers and keep playing where you left off. But it also means that deleting local saves may not get rid of all copies of your saved games.

Knowing where a game stores its saves helps determine the best way to get rid of them.

Finding Local Save Files

Let’s start with local saves, as these are the ones that often require a bit more digging. Here’s how you can find them:

Using the Game Installation Folder

A very common place to find save files is within the game’s installation folder. Here is a guide on how to locate a game’s directory on your computer:

1. Open Steam: Start your Steam client.
2. Go to Library: Click on the “Library” tab at the top of the window.
3. Find Your Game: Locate the game for which you want to find the save files. Right-click on it.
4. Select Properties: In the menu that appears, click on “Properties”.
5. Browse Local Files: In the “Properties” window, navigate to the “Installed Files” tab. Click on the “Browse…” button. This opens the game’s installation folder in Windows Explorer or Finder (Mac).

Once you’ve found the game’s installation folder, start looking for folders called things like “save”, “savedgames”, “profile,” or something similar. Game developers don’t have a unified way of naming folders, so you might have to poke around. Inside these folders, you’ll see your save files, which may have names like “save1.dat,” “profile.sav,” or a similar format. Be cautious when deleting these files, as this step cannot be easily undone. You can copy the folder to a safe location like a USB drive if you wish to make a backup of your saves before you delete them permanently.

Looking in Your Documents Folder

Many games also store save data in your “Documents” folder. Here’s how to get there:

• On Windows: Open File Explorer and click on “Documents” in the left-hand sidebar.
• On Mac: Open Finder and click on “Documents” in the sidebar.

Once you are in your documents folder look for a folder with the game’s name or the game developer’s name. Inside these folders, you might find other folders containing your save data. Again, the exact naming scheme can vary, but it’s worth a good look.

Pro Tip: If you’re having trouble finding the saves, try searching for files with extensions like .sav, .dat, or .prof in your Documents folder, or within the game installation folder. Use the windows search bar on the top right corner of your file explorer, or use the search bar on your Mac.

Using the Run Command (Windows)

Sometimes the saves are hidden in less obvious places like appdata folders. A quick way to navigate to some of these areas is using the “Run” command.

1. Press Windows Key + R.
2. In the Run dialog box that appears, type %appdata% and press Enter.
3. This will open the Roaming folder within your AppData folder.

You can look in folders named after the game or the developer. Sometime the saves will be in the AppData\Local or AppData\LocalLow folders instead of AppData\Roaming. Navigate these folders in the same way looking for the game, or its developer.

Deleting Local Save Files

Now that you’ve located the local save files, the process of deleting them is pretty straightforward.

1. Select the files: Locate the save files you want to remove from the folders you previously found.
2. Right-Click and Delete: Right-click on the save files and select “Delete” or drag and drop the file(s) into the recycle bin.
3. Empty Recycle Bin: To permanently delete the save files make sure to empty the recycle bin to fully remove them from your system.

Important Note: Deleting these files is permanent. There’s no undo button. If you want to be super safe, consider making a backup copy of your save files in a separate folder on your computer or on an external drive, before deleting the files.

Managing Steam Cloud Saves

Steam Cloud saves are a little different because the save files are stored on Steam’s servers. This means that simply deleting local files might not fully remove your game progress. Here are ways to manage your Steam cloud saves:

Disabling Steam Cloud Sync for a Game

If you want to prevent a game from using Steam Cloud and syncing your saves, you can disable the feature for individual games. Here is a step by step guide:

1. Open Steam: Start the Steam application on your computer.
2. Go to Library: Navigate to your game library.
3. Right-Click the Game: Right-click on the game you wish to disable cloud saves.
4. Select Properties: Choose “Properties” from the dropdown menu.
5. Cloud Option: In the “General” tab, look for the box labeled “Keep games saves in the Steam Cloud for [game name]”. Uncheck this box to disable Steam Cloud for this game.

When you disable cloud sync, your game will then only store the save files locally. Now if you delete them they will be gone for good. If you want to re-enable cloud sync, follow the same steps but check the box instead of unchecking it.

Deleting Steam Cloud Saves

Steam doesn’t provide a direct option to delete your cloud saves, instead you need to perform a trick to remove them.

1. Disable Cloud Sync: Disable Steam Cloud Sync for the specific game for which you want to remove the saves by following the steps above.
2. Launch the Game: Start the game. This should cause the game to load any existing local save data if you have any, or start a new game if no local saves are found.
3. Create a New Save: Play the game long enough to create a new save point. Make sure this new save data reflects your decision to restart the game.
4. Close the Game: Exit the game completely.
5. Enable Cloud Sync: Re-enable the Cloud Save option for the game. When Steam prompts you, select “upload” the local saves. Because you have disabled cloud saves previously, then created a new one, Steam should sync the new saves to your cloud saves, effectively overwriting your old cloud saves.

This method overwrites the old save files with the new saves that you just made. Note that if you had no local save files on your computer before starting the process, the cloud will now contain the save data from when you first started the game. If the game has the ability to start a new game from a menu, you may wish to use that option, as most games won’t start a new game until you delete your current progress. Check the options within your game.

Using Steam’s Support Website

In rare circumstances, you might need to contact Steam Support directly for help deleting your cloud saves. This is usually only necessary if a game doesn’t correctly update cloud saves, or if you are trying to get rid of particularly stubborn data that won’t overwrite.

1. Visit Steam Support: Go to the Steam support website.
2. Select Your Game: Select the game that you need help with.
3. Choose a Support Topic: Select the appropriate support topic, perhaps choose something related to game saves or cloud saves.
4. Contact Steam Support: Explain your situation in detail, and ask for assistance in removing your cloud saves. They may have specific steps or solutions for particular games.

Keep in mind that contacting Steam support should be your last resort. They might not be able to delete the saves in all cases, and it may take them a while to respond to your request.

Specific Game Examples

While the general principles we’ve discussed apply to most games, here’s a quick look at a few popular examples to give you more specific guidance.

Example 1: Minecraft

Minecraft stores its saves in a slightly different location. If you play the Java version you can navigate to:

• Windows: Open File Explorer, in the address bar type %appdata%/.minecraft/saves and press Enter.
• Mac: Open Finder, and press Command+Shift+G (Go to Folder) then type ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/saves and click Go.

Within this folder you will find the save data for each of your Minecraft worlds, which you can delete if needed.

Example 2: The Witcher 3

The Witcher 3 stores saves in your Documents folder within a sub-folder named ‘The Witcher 3’:

• Windows: Navigate to Documents and look for a folder titled “The Witcher 3”.
• Mac: Navigate to Documents and look for a folder titled “The Witcher 3”.

Inside this folder you will see the save data. You can delete these files like normal.

Example 3: Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley stores saves in the AppData folder. Here’s how to find them:

• Windows: Press Windows Key + R. In the Run dialog box that appears type %appdata% and press enter. Open the “StardewValley” folder.
• Mac: Open Finder, and press Command+Shift+G (Go to Folder) then type ~/.config/StardewValley and click Go.

Within this folder you will find your Stardew Valley saves.

Note: Some games, especially older titles may have unusual save locations or unique save file formats. If you are unable to find the saves for a game by following the above steps, try looking up the specific game online to find more specific information. Try using searches like “[game title] save location” in a search engine like Google to find information relating to save locations for that game.

Why Delete Game Saves?

There are several reasons why you might want to delete your game saves:

• Starting Fresh: You may want to start the game with a new game save.
• Corrupted Saves: Sometimes saves get corrupted and the game won’t work. You need to delete the corrupted save data to allow the game to start again.
• Troubleshooting: Deleting saves can help you diagnose or fix issues with your game.
• Saving Space: Some games can have very large save files. Deleting old saves can free up hard drive space.

Whatever your reason for deleting the saves, now you have the information needed to get the job done.

Deleting game saves on Steam might seem a little tricky at first, but by understanding where these saves are stored, you can easily manage and remove them. Whether you’re deleting local saves, managing Steam Cloud, or backing up your progress, you now have the tools to control your game data. Remember to be careful when deleting files and always back up important data before you make any changes. With these tips, you will never be worried about deleting game saves on Steam again.