Why did copying the game folder leave my saves behind?
You move a game from your computer to another device. The graphics and music work, but the menu only offers “New Game.” Sometimes the saves never moved; sometimes the files arrived, but the new build cannot read them.
By zing · Published · Sources checked
The game folder holds the world; saves record your progress
Maps, textures and music define what is in the game. Saves record where you are, what you have collected and which quests you have completed. These files do not necessarily live together.
Many games keep the program and assets in the installation folder, while writing saves to the current user’s data directory. This lets people sharing a computer keep separate progress and keeps personal data separate from game updates. Other games save inside their own folder; the location depends on how the program was designed.
For example, ScummVM’s documentation lists %APPDATA%\ScummVM\Saved games as the Windows default and ~/Library/Application Support/ScummVM/Savegames/ on macOS. The location can also be changed. Copying only the folder containing the game assets leaves those saves behind. Seeing “New Game” on the new device does not establish that your old progress is lost.
A transferred file still needs a compatible reader
A save is more than a universally readable progress marker. The program writes levels, inventory and quest states into an agreed structure, then follows rules it understands to restore them. Those rules define the save format.
A port that preserves the original format and content identifiers may be able to read the same saves on another platform. A project that rewrites the saving system or uses a different format version may not, even when the file is in the correct place and still ends in .sav. For example, a newer save might contain an item whose identifier does not exist in an older build. Copying the file cannot supply that missing content. This is an illustrative example, not a report of a particular game being tested.
Saves may be incompatible across platforms, but the names Windows, Android or ARM64 do not decide this on their own. What matters is whether both ends use compatible saving rules, game content and versions. A native port, an engine reimplementation or an emulator does not guarantee save compatibility simply by belonging to that category.
That separates “can run this game” from “can continue the original progress.” ScummVM’s FAQ limits original-save support to selected games. Ren’Py’s documentation also states that save compatibility between engine releases is not guaranteed. A port’s save support needs to be considered separately from its ability to run the game.
Cloud sync moves files; it does not automatically make them compatible
Cloud sync can spare you the work of finding and copying files, but delivery does not make a file readable. Steam Cloud requires developers to configure what is synced and where saves belong on each operating system; cross-platform syncing also depends on the game supporting cross-platform saves. Cloud support in a game’s Steam release does not establish that a separate community port has integrated with it.
For a migration, close the game and keep an independent, untouched backup first. Follow the destination project’s instructions to copy the complete save set or use its import feature. If conversion is needed, use a method the project explicitly supports. Verify that your character, level and inventory are correct and that you can save and reload before removing an old copy. Location and format are separate problems: renaming a file or copying it again cannot fix an incompatible format.
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