A hundred hours of progress. Gone. Maybe the hard drive failed. Maybe a game update corrupted the save. Maybe someone accidentally loaded an old world and overwrote the current one. Whatever happened, the result is the same: your co-op world is gone and nobody has a backup.

This happens far more often than it should. And it is especially painful with co-op saves because the loss does not just affect one person. An entire group’s investment disappears.

Here is how to make sure it never happens to you.

Why Co-Op Saves Are Especially Vulnerable

Single-player saves have some built-in protection. Steam Cloud backs up many of them automatically. You only have one person making changes, so there is a clear history. And if something goes wrong, only you are affected.

Co-op saves are riskier for several reasons:

  • Only one copy exists by default. The save lives on the host’s machine and nowhere else. If that machine has a problem, the save is gone for everyone.
  • Multiple people affect the same world. More players means more chances for something to go wrong during a session.
  • Transferring saves introduces risk. Every time a save is manually copied between players, there is a chance of corruption, incomplete transfers, or version mix-ups.
  • Games crash. Co-op sessions are more demanding on hardware than single-player. A crash at the wrong moment can corrupt a save mid-write.

Method 1: Manual Backup to Another Folder

The most basic backup approach is copying your save folder to another location on your computer after each session.

How to do it:

  1. Find your game’s save location. Common paths include:
    • %AppData%\[GameName]\
    • %LocalAppData%\[GameName]\
    • Documents\My Games\[GameName]\
  2. Copy the entire save folder
  3. Paste it into a backup directory, ideally on a different drive
  4. Add a date to the folder name so you can track versions (e.g., Valheim_Save_2026-02-11)

Pros: Free, simple, no software required.

Cons: You have to remember to do it every single time. Most people are consistent for about a week before they stop. By the time they need the backup, it is weeks or months old.

Method 2: Automated Local Backup With Scripts

You can automate the manual process by writing a simple batch script or PowerShell script that copies your save folder to a backup location with a timestamp.

Example batch script for Windows:

@echo off
set GAME_SAVE="%AppData%\YourGame\Saves"
set BACKUP_DIR="D:\GameBackups\YourGame\%date:~-4%-%date:~4,2%-%date:~7,2%"
xcopy %GAME_SAVE% %BACKUP_DIR% /E /I /Y

Schedule this to run automatically using Windows Task Scheduler, or run it manually after each session.

Pros: Automated, free, keeps multiple timestamped versions.

Cons: Requires some technical ability to set up. Only backs up to your local machine, so a hard drive failure still means total loss. You need to create a separate script for each game.

Method 3: Cloud Storage Backup

Upload your save files to Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive after each session. You can do this manually or use the cloud service’s desktop sync client to automatically mirror a folder.

Pros: Off-site backup protects against hardware failure. Accessible from any device.

Cons: Automatic folder sync can cause issues if the game is writing to save files while the sync is happening. Manual uploads require the same discipline as manual local backups. Storage limits may become an issue with large or frequently changing saves.

Method 4: Distribute Saves Across Your Co-Op Group

The best backup is one that exists on multiple machines in multiple locations. If every player in your group has a copy of the latest save, it would take a truly catastrophic event to lose the world completely.

This is exactly what SaveSync does by design. When you use SaveSync to share co-op saves between players, you are simultaneously creating distributed backups. Every player in the group has access to the latest save data. If the host’s hard drive dies tomorrow, any other player can host the world with all progress intact.

Method 5: Use SaveSync’s Built-In Versioning

Beyond distributing saves to every player, SaveSync maintains version history for your synced saves. This means you do not just have the latest save backed up. You can access previous versions if something goes wrong with the current one.

This protects against:

  • Corrupted saves from game crashes
  • Accidental overwrites from loading the wrong save
  • Bad game updates that break existing worlds
  • Griefing from a player who damages the world intentionally

A Good Backup Strategy for Co-Op Games

For the most complete protection, combine multiple methods:

  1. Use SaveSync to distribute your save across all players automatically. This is your primary backup and your solution for host flexibility.
  2. Keep a local backup on a separate drive for quick recovery.
  3. Store a periodic cloud backup for off-site protection against hardware failure.

The most important thing is that at least one backup method is automatic. Manual backups only work until you forget, and you will forget at the worst possible time.

Your co-op world represents dozens of hours of shared effort. Protect it accordingly.