Palworld Save File Location 2026: Exact Paths for Steam, Xbox, and Dedicated Servers — Including the One Most Players Miss

Most guides point you to AppData\Local\Pal\Saved\SaveGames and leave you to figure out the rest. That path works for Steam — but if you’re on Xbox Game Pass, the folder isn’t there. And if you’re running a dedicated server, your world save lives in a completely separate directory that most players only discover after losing hours of progress.

This guide covers every platform with exact paths, tells you which three files matter when backing up, and walks through the tested restore procedure step by step. If you’re new to the game, our Palworld beginner’s guide covers the full system overview first.

Verified April 2026. Paths confirmed across multiple sources. Check your config file if a path returns empty after a major update.

Where Palworld Saves Your Game: Quick Reference

Steam Save File Location on PC

The full path for Steam installs on Windows:

C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Pal\Saved\SaveGames

AppData is hidden by default. The fastest route: press Win+R, type %localappdata%\Pal\Saved\SaveGames, and press Enter. Windows opens the folder directly without navigating through hidden directories.

Inside SaveGames you’ll find a numeric subfolder — your Steam ID. Inside that, one or more world folders with long alphanumeric names like 9FD8E3B040655006851A3C9AAE16E4C4. Each string is a separate world save. If you’ve played on multiple servers or started several solo worlds, you’ll have multiple folders here.

The three files that define a world save

When copying, restoring, or transferring, you only need three items:

• Level.sav — world state: base buildings, Pal box contents, resource deposits
• LevelMeta.sav — world metadata
• Players/ folder — individual character data for every player who has joined that world

Copy all three as a unit. A restore with one file missing will either fail to load or produce a world in a broken state.

Steam Cloud and in-game auto-backup

Steam Cloud backs up your saves automatically. It’s useful against accidental deletion — but not against corruption. If a save becomes corrupted, Steam Cloud syncs the corrupted file and overwrites the clean one. A separate manual backup on local or external storage is not optional for anyone with significant playtime.

Palworld also generates automatic in-game backups every 30 seconds, added in patch 0.1.5.0 [2]. These live inside a backup/world/ subfolder in each world’s directory, named with timestamps in YYYY.MM.DD-HH.MM.SS format. On a typical session, you’ll have dozens of restore points without any manual setup. The in-game “Restore from Backup Data” option on the world select screen pulls from this subfolder directly.

See also our guide to palworld crashing fix.

Xbox Game Pass Save File Location

Xbox Game Pass saves to a Windows Store packages directory — not the standard AppData path. The full path:

C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Packages\PocketpairInc.Palworld_ad4psfrxyesvt\SystemAppData\wgs

The wgs folder uses container files in Xbox’s proprietary format. You cannot open these as standard save files, and you cannot copy them into a Steam SaveGames folder.

No Steam-to-Xbox save transfer exists. The two versions store saves in incompatible formats with no supported migration path. Cross-platform multiplayer between Steam and Xbox Game Pass works; save portability does not. If you switch versions, you start a new world.

You might also find save file location helpful here.

Xbox Game Pass saves are backed up through Xbox Cloud Saves automatically, tied to your Microsoft account. No manual setup needed — but the same caveat applies as Steam Cloud: corruption syncs too.

Dedicated Server Save File Location: The Path Most Players Never Find

When you run or rent a Palworld dedicated server, world saves go to a completely separate directory from single-player saves. This is the most common source of “I lost everything” reports after server resets or host migrations.

Windows (SteamCMD install):

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\PalServer\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\0

Linux or hosted server:

/PalServer/Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/

Inside the 0/ folder, you’ll find one or more subfolders with random alphanumeric names. Each subfolder is a separate world [4].

How to identify your active world folder

The folder name matches the DedicatedServerName= value in your server config file. Find it at:

Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\PalServer\Pal\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\GameUserSettings.ini

Linux: /PalServer/Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini

Open GameUserSettings.ini in any text editor, find the line starting with DedicatedServerName=, and that value is the exact subfolder name inside SaveGames/0/ [3]. If you have multiple subfolders and aren’t sure which is active, this config check is the definitive method.

Critical: host player data does not transfer

If you’re migrating from a solo game to a dedicated server, the host player’s character data — inventory, level, base ownership, caught Pals — does not carry over. Only the world state and other players’ character files transfer [4]. Your base structures will be there; your character starts fresh on the server. This catches most first-time migrators off guard. Plan for it before copying files, not after.

How to Back Up and Restore Palworld Saves

Manual backup (Steam)

1. Navigate to %localappdata%\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\[SteamID]\[WorldFolder]
2. Copy the entire world folder to an external drive or cloud storage
3. Label the copy with the date — match Palworld’s own timestamp format (YYYYMMDD) so copies are unambiguous

Back up before major base expansions, after clearing a tower boss, and before using Memory Wipe Potions — which have a documented bug that causes data loss without a refund [1]. For more on getting the most from Palworld on PC, see our guide to the best Palworld PC settings.

Restoring a Steam save

The most common mistake: forgetting to disable Steam Cloud before restoring. If Steam syncs during the restore, it overwrites your recovered file with the corrupted original.

1. Disable Steam Cloud first: Steam → Library → right-click Palworld → Properties → General → uncheck “Keep game saves in the Steam Cloud”
2. Navigate to SaveGames\[SteamID]\[WorldFolder]
3. Open the backup/world/ subfolder
4. Select a timestamp folder dated before the problem occurred
5. Copy these three items: Players/ folder, Level.sav, LevelMeta.sav
6. Paste into the parent world folder, replacing the current files
7. Launch the game, verify the restore worked, then re-enable Steam Cloud

For recent issues, use the faster in-game option: world select screen → Restore from Backup Data. The 30-second auto-backup history gives you fine-grained rollback without any extra steps [2].

Dedicated server backup

1. Stop the server process completely before copying files
2. Copy the full world folder from SaveGames/0/[WorldFolderName]/ to local storage
3. Restart the server

If you use a hosted provider such as DatHost or ZAP-Hosting, download your save through their file manager or via FTP on a regular schedule. Hosted servers have no automatic backup by default — if the provider has an outage, your world save is gone unless you have a local copy [3].

For more on this, see save file location.

Player Type Guide: What Matters for Your Setup

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Palworld save folder on Windows?

For Steam: press Win+R and type %localappdata%\Pal\Saved\SaveGames for the fastest route. The full manual path is C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Pal\Saved\SaveGames — AppData is hidden, so use the shortcut or enable “Hidden items” in File Explorer’s View menu first.

Can I transfer a save from Steam to Xbox Game Pass?

No. Steam uses standard save files; Xbox Game Pass uses container files in the wgs format. There is no official migration path between the two versions. Cross-platform multiplayer works, but saves don’t cross over — you’d start a new world on whichever version you switch to.

Does Palworld have cloud saves?

Steam and Xbox Game Pass both use automatic cloud saves tied to your account. Neither platform’s cloud sync is a substitute for manual backups on dedicated servers — and for Steam/Xbox players, a corrupted save will sync to the cloud too. Keep a local backup for anything you’d be unhappy to lose.

Can I move my solo save to a dedicated server?

Yes, for the world data — your base, structures, and other players’ characters transfer. The host player’s own character does not. Expect to recreate your main character on the server side; the world itself carries over intact.

How do I find my Palworld config folder?

For Steam single-player: C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Pal\Saved\Config\Windows. For a Windows dedicated server: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\PalServer\Pal\Saved\Config\WindowsServer. The config folder holds GameUserSettings.ini — useful for graphics options and, on servers, identifying the active world save folder.

Sources

1. Palworld: How To Restore Backup Saves — Gameranx
2. How to Back Up Save Data in Palworld — Game8
3. Palworld: Managing Savegames — ZAP-Hosting
4. Upload World Save — DatHost Help Center

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.