Where are Steam saved games located? Tomb Raider 2013 to be specific

[Sasqui]

I was moving a motherboard into a new case and something went horribly wrong, the MB won't power up. I've tried everything, three different PSU's, another CPU, different memory, tabletop build, etc. Even forced flashed the BIOS with a FlashcatUSB. Nadda. It was an older MSI Z97 U3 Plus with an i7-4790k. Great machine, even if Windows 11 won't run on it, lol.

So I'm going to get another Z97 MB (looking at a Z97 Gaming) and reinstall the OS, programs, etc. Didn't lose any data, I keep everything on a separate drive with NAS and USB backups.

Long story short... I was re-visiting Tomb Raider 2013 via Steam, played quite a bit. Where are saved games located? Are they on Steam servers or can I dig them out of my SSD (my OS drive)?

 

[sneekypeet]

Typically: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common

EDIT: prevous directory was for your ID, what is above now is game data.

 

[Sasqui]

Typically: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common

EDIT: prevous directory was for your ID, what is above now is game data.

Thanks @sneekypeet ... any idea if the data can simply be copied to another PC? I don't know if I had Sync turned on. Guess I'll just have to try it when I get a new PC setup. I do have a pathetic laptop I could try it on.

 

[sneekypeet]

Thanks @sneekypeet ... any idea if the data can simply be copied to another PC? I don't know if I had Sync turned on. Guess I'll just have to try it when I get a new PC setup. I do have a pathetic laptop I could try it on.

I am pretty certain you can copy/paste that folder to a new build, and tell STEAM to look there for your stuff.

 

[Shou Miko]

Thanks @sneekypeet ... any idea if the data can simply be copied to another PC? I don't know if I had Sync turned on. Guess I'll just have to try it when I get a new PC setup. I do have a pathetic laptop I could try it on.

You can change your steam library folders in Settings-->Downloads under Content Libraries there is a button called STREAM LIBRARY FOLDERS here you add the folders you want and copy the games into the specific folders and steam automatically findes the games you own on your account:

I haven't had issues myself and yes I use a Sabrent Rocket 2TB NVME SSD for my Games library in general.

 

[MarsM4N]

@OP: here's a great guide about moving games & their game save locations: How to Back Up and Restore PC Games

Most Steam games store their game saves in the Steam folder. But some crappy programmed games dump their game saves it in "C:\Users\<YourUserName>\AppData\".

You can change your steam library folders in Settings-->Downloads under Content Libraries there is a button called STREAM LIBRARY FOLDERS here you add the folders you want and copy the games into the specific folders and steam automatically findes the games you own on your account:

Exactly. You can also have multiple Steam Library Folders, on the same or different drives, at the same time. And in the Steam library you can just move games from one library to the other, without reinstall. One of the best features of Steam.

 

[thesmokingman]

Thanks @sneekypeet ... any idea if the data can simply be copied to another PC? I don't know if I had Sync turned on. Guess I'll just have to try it when I get a new PC setup. I do have a pathetic laptop I could try it on.

You can copy your whole steam folder onto new machine's drive and the steam installer will figure it out once you have it install steam into said folder. I do this all the time, well whenever a new system replaces an old system. Also, it saves a crap ton of time not having to re-download the game files for each pc in your house. Just copy the game folder in question in the common folder and copy to next machine, keeping same folder layout ...Steam\steamapps\common.

 

[cvaldes]

I was re-visiting Tomb Raider 2013 via Steam, played quite a bit. Where are saved games located? Are they on Steam servers or can I dig them out of my SSD (my OS drive)?

I'm pretty sure all of the answers above are wrong.

You are looking for your save game data. Most of the commenters here have told you where the game lives. For Tomb Raider 2013, the save game files are not in the game directory.

The save game files you are looking for live in:

<Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/203160/

It must be the 203160 folder; that's the Steam game ID. If you look under the 460970 folder, that's the save game data for Bayonetta.

So the machine I am typing this on it is:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\1********8\203160\remote

even though the game directory and executables live on a different drive under the M:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common directory.

If you have multiple Steam user logins, you'll have to figure out which one you want.

Source: PCGamingWiki

Some of the above comments describe how to copy your installed Steam games to a new system. This does work but it does not capture the save game data if that lives outside the game directory.

Other places this type of save game data lives in is ~/Documents/[game publisher], ~/Documents/[game] or sometimes under your Windows user local data like: C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\FrostRunner\Saved\SaveGames or even under the legacy Game folder at C:\Users\[user]\Documents\My Games\Rise Of The Triad\ROTTGame\SaveData

And if the game is available from both Steam and Epic, the save data could be in different locations (or may not even be compatible). I believe the save game data for Control is one such example.

Note that sticking the save game data in the Steam game directory risks the possibility of a new user blowing away the saved game of someone else who ran the game on the same machine. Using Steam user IDs or putting the data under the person's Windows user directory eliminates this risk. I know the concept of a multiuser system is alien to some TPU forum participants but it is not lost on savvier videogame programmers.

Summary: If you're not sure, check the PCGamingWiki entry for the game in question first. It'll save you minutes of needlessly bashing your head against a brick wall trying to figure where this stuff lives.

 

[Sasqui]

Thanks ya'll. I have yet to find a Z97 motherboard, and still troubleshooting my MSI Z97 U3 Plus. Last, I've tried a new CPU, same result. The fans spin for a moment with a power click, but the system won't start. BIOS is good.

I can install Steam on a less capable machine, just haven't had a chance yet. Cheers