Does Uninstalling a PC Game Delete Saves? Steam and Epic Checks

Choose your symptom

• Removing only one game through its launcher — Identify and copy its separate save location first.
• Also cleaning AppData, Saved Games or userdata — Stop and check whether those folders contain saves.
• Cloud reports a sync error — Preserve the intended local progress before removing anything.
• Reinstalled, but progress is missing from the menu — Check account, paths and synchronization before saving again.

STEP 1: Identify the game files and saves separately

1. In Steam, right-click the game in Library and use Manage → Browse local files to inspect its installation. Locate its saves independently using publisher guidance or the examples below.
2. Compare the planned removal scope with the actual save path. Similar game names in steamapps and AppData do not make those folders interchangeable. If the save location is unknown, identify it before uninstalling or cleaning folders.

Result and next action: Read any additional user-data removal choices. A game-specific uninstaller may offer more than removal of the installed program.

STEP 2: Check synchronization and the account

1. If the game works normally, save and close it. For a Steam Cloud game, wait for synchronization to finish. If it reports an error, do not proceed on the assumption that the cloud must hold your latest progress.
2. Review the game’s Cloud setting in Steam Properties → General, and record the store and account in use. Treat a publisher’s separate cross-save service separately. Do not toggle synchronization merely to inspect its current state.

Result and next action: Resolve uncertainty about the version you want to preserve before making a conflict choice or removing local data.

STEP 3: Copy saves outside the removal scope and compare

1. Close the game and launcher after synchronization. Copy the identified save folder into a dated backup outside all folders that will be removed. A backup inside the game installation is not protected from removing that installation.
2. Compare source and destination file/folder counts and Size in bytes in Properties, and check that the required files are present. The save-backup guide covers stronger verification and restoration; matching counts alone does not prove a save can load.
3. Only after checking the copy, continue to the normal uninstall procedure below. For protection against drive failure as well as accidental removal, retain another copy on a separate physical device.

Result and next action: Keep the copy until the reinstalled game loads the intended progress. A successful uninstall is not a successful restoration test.

What exactly will be removed?

1. Launcher removal of one installed game: separately stored saves are outside that scope, provided no additional save/user-data removal is selected. Back up before relying on this distinction.
2. Manual removal of the installation directory: anything inside, including mods, configuration or misplaced backups, is in scope. Prefer the normal launcher operation when the aim is simply to remove the game.
3. Cleaning AppData, Saved Games or Steam userdata: these can hold progress. Leftover does not mean disposable. Identify the contents instead of following a blanket cleanup list.
4. Windows reset, drive formatting or deleting a user account: these affect a wider area. A backup elsewhere on the same affected drive may also be lost; preserve it outside the entire operation’s scope.

Three documented Windows save locations

1. Cyberpunk 2077: %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\CD Projekt Red\Cyberpunk 2077. This is separate from its normal installed game files. Removing this Saved Games folder also removes the local saves it contains. CD PROJEKT RED’s clean-install instructions explicitly include that additional removal after backing up; they are not the same as uninstalling only the game.
2. Baldur’s Gate 3: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Larian Studios\Baldur's Gate 3\PlayerProfiles\Public\Savegames\Story. Larian identifies each save as a folder here. Removing the parent Baldur's Gate 3 folder from AppData includes these saves; uninstalling files elsewhere does not itself target this path.
3. Stardew Valley, Windows Steam edition: %APPDATA%\StardewValley\Saves. Keep the character’s whole folder, including its actual save and SaveGameInfo. Removing Saves or its parent removes that local data. A missing Load-menu entry alone does not establish that all progress is gone.
4. These examples compare documented paths with removal scope. They do not guarantee all editions, custom save locations or installer options. Check the path on your PC and preserve the copy before proceeding.

Use the launcher’s normal uninstall operation

1. Steam: Library → right-click the intended game → Manage → Uninstall. Check the title in the confirmation before proceeding. This concerns one game, not uninstalling the Steam client.
2. Epic Games Launcher: Library → the game’s three-dot menu → Uninstall, then review the confirmation. The Early Preview layout can put Library in the top bar and the menu on the selected game; follow the linked Epic instructions for your version.
3. If a separate uninstaller offers to remove saves, settings or user data, do not select removal of data you want to retain. After the ordinary uninstall, inspect the save location and compare file presence with your record. Loadability must still be checked after reinstalling.

If progress does not appear after reinstalling

1. Reinstall through the same store/account and inspect the save location before launch. Compare the character and progress in the Load menu with your record. Only a successful load confirms that the expected progress is usable.
2. Files exist but the Load menu is empty: check the Windows user, store/game account and folder nesting. Do not delete files just because the menu does not list them.
3. Local files are missing but an independent copy exists: use the save-backup guide’s restoration procedure. Preserve current data before any replacement and manage synchronization according to the game/store guidance.
4. A Cloud conflict or sync error appears: pause launch and new saves until you identify the wanted progress and timestamps. Use the Cloud troubleshooting guide; do not choose solely by a larger file size or newer time.
5. No local copy is found: inspect the Recycle Bin, other Windows accounts and known external/cloud backups. Recovery without a retained copy is not guaranteed. Server-stored progress also depends on the correct game account/server; cross-store transfer is a separate compatibility question.

Keep a short record before removal

1. Removal: one game only, or which additional folders and data? Retained save: original path, game/store/account and expected progress. Backup: location outside removal scope and the result of the copy comparison.
2. Write the removal and backup locations separately. Redact Windows usernames and account identifiers before sharing a record publicly.

Protect saves and keep changes reversible

• Stop if you cannot identify the save location or the scope of removal.
• Do not use a clean-install cleanup list merely to free the game’s disk space.
• Cloud synchronization and an independent backup serve different purposes.