Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition save location (PC & Steam Deck)

Q: Where are Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition saves on Steam Deck?

In ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/813780/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Games/Age of Empires 2 DE/<user-id>/savegame . That folder sits inside the game's Proton prefix, so it only exists once the game has run at least once.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition keeps its saves in %USERPROFILE%\Games\Age of Empires 2 DE\<user-id>\savegame on Windows. It supports Steam Cloud, which keeps the latest save on your Steam account. Hoard finds that folder on its own, backs it up every time the game saves and keeps it in sync between your PCs and a Steam Deck.

Where Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition keeps its saves

Windows

%USERPROFILE%\Games\Age of Empires 2 DE\<user-id>\savegame

Steam Deck and Linux (Proton)

~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/813780/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Games/Age of Empires 2 DE/<user-id>/savegame

<user-id> is a folder named after your account's numeric ID; there is one for each account that has played the game on that machine.

These locations come from PCGamingWiki, through the community save database Hoard uses for detection. The Steam Deck paths are the Windows paths inside the game's Proton prefix, compatdata/813780, which appears after the game's first launch.

Settings files

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition keeps settings such as graphics and controls apart from the saves, in %USERPROFILE%\Games\Age of Empires 2 DE\<user-id>\profile.

Keep it backed up and in sync with Hoard

Hoard is free and open source. It backs up your Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition saves every time the game writes one and again when you quit, keeps a history you can go back to, and syncs the folder between your PCs and a Steam Deck. Only the files that changed travel, compressed, and every file is checked against its SHA-256 hash when it comes back.

Install Hoard and sign in to Hoard One, recommended for everyone, or point it at your own server.
Open the Library. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is detected from your Steam library and the community save database.
Play. When you quit, the first version appears in the history.

Frequently asked questions

Does Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition have cloud saves?

Yes, according to the save database: Steam Cloud. A store's cloud keeps only the latest save for that account, though, with no versions to go back to. Hoard keeps every version on top, on Hoard One or your own server.

Where are Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition saves on Steam Deck?

In ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/813780/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Games/Age of Empires 2 DE/<user-id>/savegame. That folder sits inside the game's Proton prefix, so it only exists once the game has run at least once.

Is Hoard free?

Yes. The app, the command line and the server are free and open source (AGPL-3.0), and running your own server costs nothing but the machine. Hoard One, the managed server we recommend for everyone, is free too with 2 GB and three devices; Pro adds room for €1.99 a month.

Does self-hosting send anything to Hoard?

No. On your own server there's no account with us and no telemetry to us: your saves, your users and your logs stay on your machine and never touch ours.