Does removing a game from Steam account delete saves?

Does Removing a Game from Steam Account Delete Saves?

Removing a game from your Steam account is a common occurrence, whether you’re decluttering your library or making space for new games. However, you may be worried about whether your saves will be affected by the process. The answer is, generally, no. Steam does its best to keep your save data intact even if you uninstall a game.

What Happens to Game Saves When You Uninstall a Game from Steam?

When you uninstall a game from Steam, it removes the game’s data and executable files from your computer. This is necessary to free up disk space and maintain your computer’s organization. But what happens to your saved data?

Saves in Local Storage

For most games, Steam saves data to your local machine in the form of.csv,.json, or binary files. These files are stored in a subdirectory called Save inside the game’s folder, or in the Steam userdata directory if the game supports Steam Cloud saves.

When you uninstall a game, the entire game folder is deleted, including the saves. This means that, theoretically, your saves should also be deleted. However, as we’ll discuss later, Steam’s saves system works in a more nuanced way.

Saves in Cloud Storage (Steam Cloud Saves)

Not all games support Steam Cloud saves, but many modern games do. Steam Cloud saves allow you to synchronize your saved data across multiple machines using your Steam account.

How Do Cloud Saves Work?

Here’s a simplified overview of how Cloud Saves work:

When you uninstall a game with Steam Cloud saves, the save data is still stored in your Steam account, allowing you to recover it at any time.

Why Can I Still Play My Save if I Reinstall a Game?

Steam does keep track of game ownership, including any existing save data. When you reinstall a game, your existing saves are preserved as long as you log in to the same Steam account. Here’s how:

• The game recognizes the user with the same Steam ID (your account)
• It checks if a local copy of the saves is present; if so, it uses that copy instead of downloading a fresh copy
• The saved data remains intact, so you can pick up where you left off

Some Exemptions to this Rule

Not all games may follow the above protocol for various reasons:

Before uninstalling a game with Steam Cloud saves, consider checking the game’s page on Steam for compatibility with the new reinstallation method.

Reinstalling a Game After Uninstallation

Reinstalling a game can lead to new save data creation. Keep in mind:

In some cases, reinstallation can be challenging due to various compatibility or data issues. Save game compatibility and loss prevention best practices may depend on game-specific support for the Save and Settings directories within the userdata folder.

Conclusion

When it comes to saving game data with Steam, both local storage and Cloud storage can handle uninstallations seamlessly, giving you the opportunity to keep your saved data without having to manually migrate files between devices or installations.

Key takeaways:

1. **Your game saves are usually not affected when uninstalling games from Steam*, assuming game-specific settings. Some exceptions exist due to outdated or poorly coded saves files.
2. Local files for some games, mainly older ones without cloud syncs, can lead to lose data on reinstallment*.
3. New or re-downloading version creates new saves without retaining saved data. Care with the cloud options*
   • In other situations the previous data MUST preserve save options locally. You don’t even have any to delete that file because these could use that cloud*
     These best practices include maintaining both cloud saves on one profile or use *Multi-Language Support

Source: Based on https://www.vintageisthenewold.com/FAQ/article,
Original articles from vintageisthenewold.com have been utilized, as these topics of discussion may share certain related ideas in between content providers.