Satisfactory Save File Location: Windows & Missing Saves

Confirm what “missing” means

This Windows PC guide handles a world save that is absent from the load list or hard to find on disk. It does not assume deletion. If the factory loads normally but your character has an empty inventory, use the inventory and player-identity guide. If the save appears and loads but crashes in one area, preserve it and use the crash guide.

Before testing, note Steam or Epic, the Windows account currently signed in, the last date you successfully loaded the factory, and whether cloud sync showed a conflict. We have not tested recovery software and cannot promise restoration of a file that is absent from every available copy.

Windows save file location for Steam and Epic

Coffee Stain lists the save location as:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\FactoryGame\Saved\SaveGames

Steam or Epic on Windows? Use this base folder for either storefront. Coffee Stain also says saves work in either version; that does not promise automatic synchronization between accounts or recovery of a missing file. Keep an independent backup before moving files.

Press Win+R, paste that exact path, and press Enter. %LOCALAPPDATA% resolves to the current Windows user’s local application-data folder, so checking a different Windows account can show a different result. Do not substitute the game installation directory or the similarly named folder under Documents; a historical player report came from looking in the wrong FactoryGame location.

Inside SaveGames, inspect all account-ID-like subfolders rather than assuming the newest-looking name is yours. Use file modification times only as clues: cloud sync, copying and clock changes can alter them. Do not rename or open files in an editor yet.

Make an independent backup first

Close Satisfactory and its launcher normally. Copy the whole SaveGames folder to a clearly dated location outside the active FactoryGame tree. If practical, keep that backup outside the folder synchronized by the launcher or another cloud tool. Open the copied folder and confirm that files exist and their sizes are not zero.

Work only on additional copies. Do not overwrite a newer file with an older candidate, accept a cloud conflict blindly, or delete “duplicates” until you know which factory and timestamp each file represents. A cloud-synced copy is useful, but official support still recommends a separate backup.

If files exist but the load menu is empty

Record each candidate file’s name, size and modification time. Confirm you launched the same storefront/account and the intended main or Experimental branch. Official support recommends backing up before changing branches; a save written by a newer version may not be usable by an older client.

Finish any pending game update, then reopen the game once. If the menu still omits the save, do not repeatedly move files in and out. Keep the untouched backup and report the exact client version, branch and candidate file details. “Not listed” does not by itself prove corruption, and installing the game again does not recreate a missing user save.

If the folder or expected files are absent

Check whether Windows is signed into the account that originally played, then inspect backups you already control: a dated manual copy, a prior computer or drive, and the launcher’s cloud-conflict/history interface if it actually offers one. Preserve any candidate before allowing synchronization to replace local data.

If there is no save in the official path, no other Windows profile used for play, and no existing backup or recoverable cloud copy, stop before downloading unknown repair tools. This guide cannot reconstruct a factory from nothing. Avoid writing large amounts of new data to a drive if you intend to seek professional file-recovery advice, but understand that recovery is uncertain.

Keep PC, server and console paths separate

The Windows path above is for the PC client. Do not paste it into Linux/Wine, a Docker container, a rented host or a console workflow. A dedicated server has a deployment-specific persistent save location; follow its current host/image documentation and back up the persistent volume before changes.

Similarly, a server save missing from Server Manager is an administrator task, not proof that the local Windows save disappeared. Use the dedicated-server checks for server reachability and management failures.

Stop with a useful inventory of evidence

When asking support, list launcher, client version/branch, Windows account change if any, exact folder checked, candidate names/sizes/times, last successful load, and what cloud sync displayed. Share screenshots only after hiding the Windows username, account IDs and private paths.

Keep the original files and all backups unchanged. Do not upload a private factory to an arbitrary save editor as the first step, and do not mark a save “recovered” merely because a file appeared. Confirm it is the intended factory, loads on the expected version, and can be copied again before relying on it.