Where Hades 2 Saves Your Game: AppData Path, Steam Cloud Sync, and How to Restore Lost Progress

Your entire Hades 2 progress — keepsakes, resources, permanent upgrades, and every god relationship — lives in a single folder. Most players never need to know where it is. But reinstall Windows, move to a new PC, or hit a rare Steam Cloud sync failure, and that folder becomes the only thing standing between you and starting over from scratch.

This guide gives you the exact save path on every platform, explains what each file in the folder actually does (including the validation file most backup guides skip entirely), and walks through three recovery scenarios using free tools built into Steam and the game itself.

Verified on Hades 2 v1.0 (full release, September 25, 2025). Save file paths may change with future patches — check our Hades 2 complete guide for the latest updates.

Hades 2 Save File Locations: Quick Reference

All platforms use identical .sav format files. Steam Cloud keeps them in sync automatically across any two machines sharing the same Steam account — no manual transfer needed during normal play.

Finding Your Saves on Windows

The fastest route: press Win+R, type %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Hades II, press Enter. Windows Explorer opens directly to the save folder — no navigating through C:\Users\YourName first.

If you prefer File Explorer navigation: AppData is hidden by default on Windows. In Windows 11, open any Explorer window, click the three-dot menu → Show → Hidden items. Then navigate to C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Saved Games\Hades II.

If the folder does not exist after a fresh install, create it manually before launching the game. This is the most common cause of Steam Cloud sync failures on Windows: Steam has your save stored in the cloud, but the local target folder is missing, so the sync silently skips and the game starts fresh instead. Creating Saved Games\Hades II manually and relaunching Steam resolves this in one step.

For Steam Deck players, the save path sits deep inside Proton’s compatibility layer. The cleanest access method is Desktop Mode → Dolphin file manager → navigate using the path in the table above. Our Hades 2 Steam Deck settings guide covers the full Desktop Mode file access workflow alongside performance settings.

What Each File in the Save Folder Does

Opening Saved Games\Hades II reveals several files that are not self-explanatory:

The validation file (Profile1.v.sav) is the one nearly every backup guide misses. If you copy only Profile1.sav without its paired .v.sav file, the game may load an older or mismatched state on the next launch. Always back up all Profile* files as a group.

For more on this, see save file location.

GlobalSettingsWin.sjson stores display and audio preferences — not your progress. Losing it means redoing your settings, but all unlocks, keepsakes, and resources remain intact in the save files.

Steam Cloud Sync: How It Works and Where It Breaks

Steam Cloud is enabled by default for Hades 2 (Steam App ID: 1145350). Sync triggers when you exit the game normally — not mid-run, and not on a force-close. The vast majority of the time, this is invisible and reliable.

The known failure mode — missing local folder: After reinstalling Windows or doing a clean Steam install, the Saved Games\Hades II folder does not exist. Steam checks for the folder, finds nothing, and skips the sync without an error message. The game launches as if it’s a new install. Your cloud save is intact and unharmed — Steam just cannot write it anywhere.

Fix in three steps: (1) Close the game and Steam. (2) Navigate to %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\ and create a folder named Hades II. (3) Restart Steam, then launch Hades 2. Steam detects the folder and downloads your cloud save automatically on the next launch.

Cloud conflict dialog: If Steam presents a conflict screen asking you to choose between the cloud version and the local version, compare the timestamps carefully before selecting. Choosing the local option when the cloud holds your most recent run overwrites that progress permanently.

Disabling Steam Cloud temporarily: Steam Library → right-click Hades 2 → Properties → General → Steam Cloud toggle. Disable this when manually transferring saves between PCs. Re-enable it only after confirming the correct save is loading inside the game.

Three Backup Methods: Which One Is Right for You

Method 1 — Manual copy (recommended for all players): Copy the entire Saved Games\Hades II folder to any external location — a USB drive, second drive, or personal cloud folder. Takes 30 seconds. Do it before a major game update, before upgrading your PC, and after any run you would not want to repeat. Label the backup folder with the date.

Method 2 — In-game backup snapshots (fastest rollback): At the Hades 2 main menu, highlight Play and press B. The game displays a list of its own built-in snapshots, managed separately from your .sav files. This is the right tool for rolling back a bad decision made in the last ten minutes — no file management required, no Steam involvement.

Method 3 — Steam backup: Steam Library → right-click Hades 2 → Manage → Back up game files. This backs up the full game installation, not specifically your saves. Useful before a system wipe, but slower and larger than a targeted save folder copy. For save-only protection, Method 1 is faster and more precise.

See also our guide to save file location.

Recovery Guide: Three Scenarios

Scenario A — Save deleted or missing locally:

1. Open a browser and go to Steam’s remote storage page for Hades 2 (requires Steam login). This shows every file Steam has stored in the cloud for the game.
2. Download Hades II/Profile1.sav and Hades II/Profile1.v.sav from the file list.
3. Create %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Hades II\ if it does not already exist.
4. Place both downloaded files in the folder.
5. Launch Hades 2 — your progress loads from the restored files.

Scenario B — Cloud sync overwrote your current save:

1. Close Hades 2 and Steam.
2. Disable Steam Cloud: Library → right-click Hades 2 → Properties → General → uncheck Steam Cloud.
3. Launch the game. At the main menu, press B to open in-game backup snapshots.
4. Restore the most recent snapshot that predates the bad sync event.
5. Confirm your save loads correctly in the game, then re-enable Steam Cloud.

If you have a dated manual backup folder from before the sync, copying the .sav and .v.sav files back into Saved Games\Hades II while the game is closed is faster than using the in-game snapshots.

Scenario C — New PC, saves will not sync:

1. On the old PC: close Steam and Hades 2. Copy the entire Saved Games\Hades II folder to a USB drive.
2. On the new PC: navigate to %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\. Create the Hades II folder and paste your files into it.
3. Open Steam. Temporarily disable Cloud Sync for Hades 2 in Properties.
4. Launch Hades 2 and confirm your save appears and loads correctly.
5. Re-enable Steam Cloud. Steam detects the local files and syncs them up. Going forward, saves transfer automatically between machines.

Cross-Save Between PC and Nintendo Switch

Hades 2’s v1.0 launch added Nintendo Switch cross-save through Steam Cloud. To activate: open the in-game Settings menu, enable Cross-Save, and link your Supergiant account to both your Steam and Nintendo accounts. Progress syncs in both directions, with the most recent save winning any conflict.

Cross-save runs on the same Steam Cloud infrastructure as standard PC sync. If you’re troubleshooting a cross-save problem, the same steps apply — disable Steam Cloud on PC to pause cross-save temporarily, resolve the local issue, then re-enable and let Steam sync. Our Hades 2 PC and Steam Deck optimization guide covers the full Steam settings layout if you need to navigate Steam’s Properties panels.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Hades 2 save file in AppData or Saved Games?

Saved Games. The correct path is %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Hades II\. Some older guides point to AppData, which is wrong for Hades 2. AppData on Windows holds temporary cache and application config data; Supergiant Games specifically chose the Saved Games folder for Hades 2 progress, which is the Windows-standard location for user game data.

Can I have multiple save files in Hades 2?

Yes — three slots. Profile1.sav is slot 1, Profile2.sav is slot 2, Profile3.sav is slot 3. Each slot also has its own .v.sav and _Temp.sav. When backing up or restoring a specific slot, copy all three Profile[n].* files together, not just the .sav.

Will Steam’s Verify Integrity of Game Files delete my saves?

No. Steam’s verification tool checks the game installation files only. The Saved Games\Hades II folder is in a completely separate location and is not touched by verification. Your progress is safe to run a verify at any time.

Why does Hades 2 start fresh after reinstalling Windows even though Steam Cloud is on?

The local sync target folder does not exist yet. Steam has your save in the cloud but cannot write it to a folder that is not there. Create %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Hades II\ manually, restart Steam, and the cloud save downloads automatically on the next Hades 2 launch.

Sources

• Where to find the Hades 2 Steam save file location — Shacknews
• Hades 2 Save File Location and Config File — EaseUS
• Hades 2 Save File Location on PC, Mac, and Steam Deck — ClawsomeGamer
• Lost my Hades 2 save file on cloud — Steam Community
• Hades II Save Game Not Loading Fix — MrLearningWay

Michael R.

I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.