Sid Meier's Civilization V save location (PC & Steam Deck)

Q: Where are Sid Meier's Civilization V saves on Steam Deck?

In ~/.local/share/Steam/userdata/<user-id>/8930 . That folder sits inside the game's Proton prefix, so it only exists once the game has run at least once. If you play the native Linux version instead, look in ~/.local/share/Aspyr/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/Saves .

Sid Meier's Civilization V keeps its saves in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\<user-id>\8930 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 Sid Meier's Civilization V keeps its saves

Windows

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\<user-id>\8930
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\Saves

Steam Deck and Linux (Proton)

~/.local/share/Steam/userdata/<user-id>/8930
~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/8930/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/My Games/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/Saves

Native Linux version

~/.local/share/Aspyr/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/Saves

macOS

~/Documents/Aspyr/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/Saves

<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.

Paths under C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam assume Steam is in its default folder.

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/8930, which appears after the game's first launch.

Settings files

Sid Meier's Civilization V keeps settings such as graphics and controls apart from the saves, in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 5\GraphicsSettingsDX11.ini.

Keep it backed up and in sync with Hoard

Hoard is free and open source. It backs up your Sid Meier's Civilization V 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. Sid Meier's Civilization V 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 Sid Meier's Civilization V 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 Sid Meier's Civilization V saves on Steam Deck?

In ~/.local/share/Steam/userdata/<user-id>/8930. That folder sits inside the game's Proton prefix, so it only exists once the game has run at least once. If you play the native Linux version instead, look in ~/.local/share/Aspyr/Sid Meier's Civilization 5/Saves.

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.