When game progress disappears, preserve the available saves before launching the game repeatedly or resolving a cloud conflict. The local copy, an older-machine copy and the synchronized cloud copy may represent different progress. Choose using in-game state, not timestamp alone.
Stop synchronization from replacing a useful candidate
Close the game. Before another launch, preserve its local save folder and identify the platform account. If another computer might contain the missing progress, preserve that machine’s saves before reconnecting it to synchronization. Do not select a conflict option merely because it says “newer.” A later timestamp may belong to a newly started game.
Steam documents the per-game cloud switch under Library > game Properties > General, and explains that cloud behavior depends on the game. Its Steam Cloud FAQ advises checking the circumstances behind each conflicting copy; it does not promise a recoverable cloud history or support-assisted restoration of lost saves.
Concrete local example: Stardew Valley on Windows
This example concerns the PC game’s local save files, not console or mobile storage. Look under %APPDATA%\StardewValley\Saves. Each character save is in its own named folder. Preserve the entire folder, including its paired metadata and older files, before making changes.
The developer describes _old files as a previous-day backup route. On a working copy of the selected save, retain the current files under different names and remove _old from the older paired filenames so the game can recognize them. Do not delete the only current copy. The developer’s official forum recovery reply also distinguishes nonempty data from completely blank save files.
This is a game-specific route. Other games use different paths, multiple slots, account-bound or encrypted formats and different backup rules. Use their developer documentation instead of applying Stardew’s renaming method universally.
Verify in the game before resuming sync
With preserved candidates kept outside the active save location, load the chosen working copy in a compatible game version. For Stardew Valley, inspect the character, farm, in-game date, inventory and important progress. A save slot visible in the menu does not prove the full world loads.
Check required mods and their versions where applicable; a mod mismatch can make an otherwise valid save behave differently. Avoid playing forward and saving over the candidate until its state is understood. Once the desired progress is confirmed, preserve that version and resolve synchronization deliberately so the unwanted copy does not replace it again.
If local saves were deleted
Check Recycle Bin, existing backups and the old computer. Consult the game’s documentation for its save location; common places worth checking include Documents and %APPDATA%, but the exact folder varies by game. On readable storage, XRecovery can search for remaining save files and export candidates elsewhere. It does not bypass account-bound encryption or promise game-format repair. Restore recovered files into the game’s supported working location only after preserving what is already there.
If both current and older files are empty and no independent copy exists, renaming them cannot recreate the lost world. Record which progress survives rather than treating a newly generated save as recovery.
For the next step, see Document Recovery: Deleted, Unsaved, Overwritten or Damaged?.