OneDrive and game saves: what breaks and how to fix it

On many Windows PCs, OneDrive backs up the Documents folder, often switched on during setup without anyone noticing. Games that save in Documents, which is most of My Games, follow it into OneDrive. Then the trouble starts: saves that fail to write, saves that need a download before they load, and copies with your PC's name stuck on them that the game never reads. Here's why it happens and how to fix it.

How your saves ended up in OneDrive

OneDrive's folder backup moves Documents, Desktop and Pictures to C:\Users\<you>\OneDrive\.... Games ask Windows where Documents is, so they quietly follow. To check, right-click Documents and open Properties → Location: if the path contains OneDrive, your saves are in it.

AppData and Saved Games aren't part of that backup, so games that save there aren't affected.

What goes wrong

• Writes collide. OneDrive uploads files the moment they change. A game writing its save at the same moment can find the file in use.
• Online-only saves. OneDrive can free up space by keeping files only in the cloud (the cloud icon). The game then needs a download before it can load the save, and offline there's nothing to load.
• Conflict copies. Use OneDrive on two PCs with the same account and both sync the same My Games. Play on both before one has caught up and OneDrive keeps both versions by renaming one with the PC's name. The game ignores that file.
• Space. The free plan is 5 GB, and some games keep mods, caches or recordings in Documents too.
• No sense of a play session. OneDrive syncs file by file, mid-game, and versions each file on its own rather than the save as a whole.

The fixes

Quick: keep saves on the device

Right-click Documents\My Games (or the game's own folder) and choose Always keep on this device. That ends the online-only problem. It doesn't stop OneDrive syncing while you play.

Clean: stop backing up Documents

In OneDrive, open Settings → Sync and backup → Manage back up and turn off Documents. Windows points Documents back to the local folder, but the files already backed up stay in the OneDrive folder. Before switching off, mark them Always keep on this device so they're really on disk. Then, with your games closed, move the game folders back into the local Documents, or the games will start fresh.

A better split

OneDrive is good at documents. Saves need something different: a backup taken once the game has closed, versions of the whole save rather than single files, and sync to your other PCs and a Steam Deck.

That's what Hoard does. It finds your saves whether Documents is in OneDrive or not, because it asks Windows where the folder really is. It backs them up automatically after each session, keeps every version, and syncs them to your other machines.

One rule: let one tool own the syncing between PCs. If OneDrive backs up Documents on several gaming PCs with the same account, it's already syncing those saves between them. Turn off the Documents backup on those PCs and let Hoard handle the saves.

Prefer no cloud at all? Run hoard-server on your own PC or NAS: no account with us, no telemetry to us, nothing through our servers. See how to self-host Hoard.

Frequently asked questions

Should I let OneDrive back up my game saves?

On a single PC, as a backup, it's better than nothing. As a way to sync saves between PCs it causes conflicts, because it doesn't know when a game is running.

I turned off the backup and my saves are gone. Where are they?

Still in the OneDrive folder: C:\Users\<you>\OneDrive\Documents\My Games. Close your games and move them back into the local Documents.

What are the save files with my PC's name in them?

OneDrive conflict copies. Two PCs changed the same file before syncing, and OneDrive kept both. Work out which one is newer, give it the original name, and keep the other aside.

Can OneDrive bring back an older save?

Sometimes. On onedrive.com, right-click the file and choose Version history. It works file by file and only for a limited time. See how to recover a corrupted save.

Does Hoard work if my Documents folder is in OneDrive?

Yes. Hoard reads where Windows says Documents is, so it finds saves in either place.