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On Windows, paste %LOCALAPPDATA%FactoryGameSavedSaveGames into File Explorer’s address bar. Your .sav files are inside a numbered or alphanumeric folder for your Steam or Epic account. On Linux and Steam Deck, the same game data is stored inside Steam Play (Proton)’s compatdata/526870 prefix, ending in FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames/{YOUR STEAM ID}.
Close Satisfactory before copying, replacing, or testing a save. Back up the complete SaveGames folder before moving between computers, changing platforms, or switching to the Experimental branch.
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Find Satisfactory saves on Windows
Satisfactory stores local saves below your Windows user profile rather than in the game’s installation directory. Coffee Stain’s support documentation gives this exact location:
%LOCALAPPDATA%FactoryGameSavedSaveGames
The percent signs are intentional. Windows expands %LOCALAPPDATA% to the Local AppData folder belonging to the account currently signed in. You do not need to reveal hidden folders manually when you use the variable in File Explorer’s address bar.
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Open the folder directly
- Exit Satisfactory completely. Do not copy a file while the game is saving or still running.
- Press
Windows key + Eto open File Explorer. - Click the address bar, paste
%LOCALAPPDATA%FactoryGameSavedSaveGames, and press Enter. - Wait for File Explorer to display one or more account-ID folders.
- Open the folder containing your world files. Depending on the platform, its name can be a long number or an alphanumeric account identifier.
Recognize the actual world files
The account-ID folder contains files ending in .sav. Those are the files you copy when transferring a world or restoring a backup. The parent folder can contain more than one account-ID folder, particularly after using both Epic and Steam on the same Windows installation.
Switch File Explorer to Details view and sort by Date modified. A recent manual save normally has a newer timestamp than older saves, while an autosave may also appear near the top. Use the filename, timestamp, and the save you remember making together; do not delete a file solely because its name looks unfamiliar.
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Select the complete account-ID folder, choose Copy, and paste it into a separate location before editing, replacing, or testing files. Copying the complete folder preserves every .sav file associated with that installation. A second copy on a USB flash drive or another storage location that Satisfactory does not use gives you an independent version to return to if a test goes wrong.
Steam and Epic use separate account folders
Steam and Epic share the same Windows parent directory, but each installation can create its own account-ID subfolder. The files are not identified only by the storefront name in the filename; the folder containing them is the important distinction.
Why a Steam folder may be missing
If you previously played through Epic and then install the Steam edition, you may see the Epic account folder but no Steam folder. Start Satisfactory from Steam, create a new game, and save it once. Close the game and open the same SaveGames parent again. The first Steam save should cause a new Steam account folder to appear beside the existing Epic folder.
That initial save is useful as a destination marker. It shows exactly which folder Steam is using on that computer, so you do not have to guess between several long identifiers.
Transfer a world from Epic to Steam or Steam to Epic
- Close Satisfactory on both installations if they are open.
- Open the source account-ID folder and copy the intended
.savfiles, or copy the complete source folder for a full backup. - Open the destination account-ID folder created by the destination platform’s first save.
- Paste the copied
.savfiles into that destination folder. Keep the destination’s original files in a separate backup until you confirm the transferred world opens. - Launch the destination edition and look for the transferred world in the load screen.
Steam and Epic transfers are most predictable when both editions are compatible with the save’s game branch. If you are also changing stable and Experimental versions, make an additional backup first and treat the branch change as a separate operation.
Move a Satisfactory save to another Windows PC
The practical method is a folder copy. Cloud synchronization can help, but a manually copied folder lets you select the exact version you want and gives you a fallback if synchronization presents a conflict.
Prepare the source computer
- Close Satisfactory and wait for Steam or Epic to finish any visible disk activity.
- Open
%LOCALAPPDATA%FactoryGameSavedSaveGames. - Copy the complete account-ID folder to removable storage or another transfer location. Keeping the whole folder is safer than selecting one file because it preserves manual saves, autosaves, and any other worlds in that account folder.
- Label the copy with a useful description such as the computer, platform, and date. The label is for your organization; do not rename the individual
.savfiles unless you know which save you are changing.
Prepare the destination computer
- Install and start the same Satisfactory platform on the destination computer.
- Create and save a small test world once if the destination account folder does not yet exist, then exit the game.
- Open the destination’s
SaveGamesdirectory and identify the destination account-ID folder. - Before importing anything, copy that destination folder to a separate backup location.
- Copy the source
.savfiles into the destination account-ID folder. - Start Satisfactory and verify that the expected world appears and loads. Do not erase the source copy until you have confirmed the result.
If the destination already has worlds, preserve them rather than replacing the entire folder blindly. Copying individual source files into a backed-up destination folder allows you to keep both sets and remove only the test files later.
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Find saves on Linux and Steam Deck
The Linux version accessed through Steam Play stores Satisfactory’s Windows game data inside Proton’s prefix. The relevant prefix is identified by the game’s Steam application directory compatdata/526870. Within that prefix, the save path ends with:
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The intermediate directories belong to the Proton prefix and can vary according to how your Steam library is arranged. Navigate into the compatdata/526870 prefix, continue through its user-data path, and locate the ending FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames folders. The final folder named for your Steam ID contains the .sav files.
Show hidden files on Steam Deck
- Open the Steam Deck’s desktop-mode file manager.
- Turn on the file manager’s option to show hidden files. The Proton prefix is hidden by default, so it may not appear until this option is enabled.
- Browse to the Steam library that contains Satisfactory and open
compatdata/526870. - Continue through the prefix until the path ends in
FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames. - Open the folder named with your Steam ID and sort the
.savfiles by modification time. - Copy the complete account folder to another storage location before replacing or testing a save.
Use the same close-copy-verify routine on Deck as on Windows. The hidden-folder setting changes only visibility in the file browser; it does not change the save format.
Manual saves, autosaves, and overwrite backups
Not every version of a world has the same recovery prospects. Identify what you are restoring before you replace a file.
| Save type | What it represents | Recovery consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Manual save | A save you deliberately created from the game | Usually the clearest version to select by name and modified time; keep older manual copies when experimenting. |
| Autosave | A save generated automatically by the game | Useful when a recent manual save is unavailable, but do not assume every autosave has a separate overwrite backup. |
| Overwrite backup | A previous version placed in SaveGames_backup after a manual overwrite |
Can restore the version replaced by that manual operation; the official wiki cautions that an autosave does not create this backup unless the file is manually overwritten. |
Where the overwrite backup appears
The official Satisfactory wiki documents a SaveGames_backup folder under the same Saved directory as SaveGames. When a manual save overwrites another save, the previous version can be placed there. Check this folder before concluding that an overwritten manual save is gone.
That mechanism is not a complete backup strategy. An autosave can be overwritten without producing the same backup, so maintain an independent copy of the entire save directory instead of relying on SaveGames_backup alone.
Restore an overwrite backup safely
- Exit Satisfactory.
- Copy both
SaveGamesandSaveGames_backupto a safe location so the current state is preserved. - Inspect the backup files by modified time and identify the version you want to test.
- Copy the selected backup file into the active account-ID folder, keeping the original active file under a different backup name or in a separate folder.
- Launch the game and test the restored world. If it is not the expected state, close the game and return to the preserved copies rather than repeatedly overwriting the same file.
Back up before branch changes and cloud decisions
Cloud synchronization is convenient, but it can create a choice between different local and remote versions. The official wiki notes that conflict prompts can appear after switching game versions, moving saves between platforms, or continuing on another computer.
Use a three-copy routine
- Working copy: the files in the account-ID folder Satisfactory currently uses.
- Independent copy: a copy in another location, such as a USB flash drive or a different storage location not used by the game.
- Cloud copy: the version managed by Steam or another synchronization service.
The independent copy is the one you control directly. It lets you preserve a known version before selecting an upload or download option in a conflict dialog.
When a cloud-conflict dialog appears
- Do not choose Upload or Download immediately.
- Close Satisfactory if it is open and copy the current local
SaveGamesfolder somewhere safe. - Decide whether the local or cloud version contains the progress you want, using file timestamps and your recent play history.
- Return to the synchronization prompt and choose the direction that matches that decision.
- After synchronization completes, launch the game and verify the world before deleting any independent copy.
A conflict is especially plausible after moving a save to another computer, transferring between Steam and Epic, or changing branches. Treat the prompt as a version-selection decision, not as a routine confirmation.
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Stable and Experimental branches
The Steam announcement warns that Experimental changes can have unexpected side effects and explicitly recommends backing up saves before trying the branch. Make the independent copy while the game is closed, then switch branches. Keep that copy until you have opened and checked the world on the new branch.
If you return to the stable branch, preserve the Experimental-era copy separately. A branch switch can produce another cloud-sync conflict, and keeping both versions gives you a way to choose deliberately rather than accepting whichever file synchronizes first.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Choose a backup location
There is no special hardware requirement for Satisfactory saves. The important property is separation from the folder the game writes to.
| Backup option | Control you gain | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Another local folder | Fast access to a second copy on the same computer | You are testing a replacement or sorting several save versions. |
| USB flash drive or other removable storage | A copy outside the game-managed location | You are moving saves to another computer or protecting against a bad branch switch. |
| Cloud synchronization | Convenient access across computers | You want automatic synchronization and are prepared to review conflict prompts. |
Use descriptive folders for dated copies, but leave the game’s active account-ID folder and its files in the format Satisfactory expects. A backup is useful only if you can identify which version it contains and copy it back without losing the current version.
Troubleshoot a missing or unusable save
The parent folder opens but appears empty
Check that you are signed into the Windows account that ran Satisfactory. Then start the same platform, create and save a small test world, close the game, and check the parent folder again. A first Steam save is specifically expected to create the Steam account folder when moving from Epic.
You see several account-ID folders
Do not merge them automatically. Open each folder, sort its .sav files by modified time, and use the platform history and world names you recognize to identify the source and destination. Copy the complete folder before experimenting.
The game does not list a copied world
Confirm that the copied file is inside the destination account-ID folder, not one level above it or inside the backup directory. Check that Satisfactory was closed during the copy, then restart it. If the destination was never initialized, create and save a test world first so the correct destination folder exists.
You cannot see the Deck or Linux path
Enable hidden files in the file manager and search inside compatdata/526870, not only in ordinary visible folders. Continue until the path ends with FactoryGame/Saved/SaveGames, then open the folder named for your Steam ID.
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You overwrote the wrong version
Stop making further saves, close the game, and copy the current folders to preserve the state. Inspect SaveGames_backup for a previous manually overwritten version. If the lost file was an autosave that was never manually overwritten, that automatic backup may not exist; use your independent copies or cloud-version choices instead.
A repeatable save-management checklist
- Close Satisfactory before every copy, replacement, or branch change.
- Open the platform’s active
SaveGameslocation and identify the account-ID folder. - Sort
.savfiles by modified date and select the intended manual save or autosave. - Copy the complete account-ID folder to a separate location.
- For a transfer, initialize the destination platform with one test save and identify its new account folder.
- Paste the selected files into the destination folder while retaining the destination backup.
- For cloud conflicts, preserve the local copy before choosing upload or download.
- For Experimental, preserve a backup before entering the branch and again before returning to stable.
- Launch the game, load the world, and verify the result before discarding any backup.
This process covers the common Windows, Steam, Epic, Linux, and Steam Deck cases without depending on a particular storefront’s cloud state. The account-ID folder is the key to placing a file where the intended installation can see it; independent copies are the key to recovering when an overwrite, branch change, or synchronization decision goes wrong.
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