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WALKERBEX
SAVES / STEAM CLOUD / BACKUP / THE WITCHER 3

Find your Witcher 3 saves. Back them up safely.

Copy the correct Windows gamesaves path, preserve .sav and .png pairs, and avoid OneDrive and Steam Cloud conflicts before installing mods.

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Article 46 · WalkerBexUpdated 20 October 20266–9 min read

Your save data is more important than a mod installation. The easiest protection is to copy the whole gamesaves folder somewhere outside a synced Documents folder before changing anything.

Quick Answer

On Windows, open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Witcher 3\gamesaves. Back up the whole folder—or matching .sav and .png pairs—into a dated folder outside OneDrive and Steam’s cloud-managed paths. Keep the original untouched until the new installation works.

If Windows redirects Documents into OneDrive, the actual gamesaves folder can live in your OneDrive Documents path. Confirm the current Windows Documents location before restoring anything.
Interactive guide

See the fix before you change anything

Copy the Windows save-file path

Copy it into File Explorer's address bar.
.sav

Game save data; keep every file.

.png

Matching save thumbnails; preserve them too.

If Documents is synced to OneDrive, check the actual Documents folder location. Back up to a different, non-synced folder.
Step by step

The simplest way to solve it

01

Close the game and locate Documents

Quit The Witcher 3. Paste the save path from the tool into File Explorer, or use Documents → The Witcher 3 → gamesaves.

02

Back up every matching file

Copy the entire gamesaves folder to a dated folder on a different drive or a local folder outside cloud sync. Keep both save and thumbnail files.

03

Check for OneDrive redirection

Right-click Documents → Properties → Location (where supported), or open it in File Explorer and inspect its address. If OneDrive manages it, note that location before restoring.

04

Verify Steam Cloud without forcing overwrite

Wait for Steam sync to finish and compare save timestamps. Never accept a cloud-versus-local overwrite unless you know which copy is newer.

05

Restore only after a clean test

After installing a mod or upgrading, load the game once without deleting your backup. Restore by copying into the active gamesaves directory while the game is closed.

Before you finish

Test the same scene or screen after making a single change. If a setting or mod does not help, restore your previous version. The interactive tools on this webpage do not change game files.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Where are PC save files?

Typically under Documents\The Witcher 3\gamesaves in your Windows profile.

Why are there .sav and .png files?

.sav stores the game progress and matching .png files are save thumbnails.

Does uninstalling the game always erase saves?

Not always; save folders may be preserved or synced, but never rely on that in place of a backup.

Can OneDrive move the Documents folder?

Yes. Windows can redirect Documents to OneDrive, changing where the game reads and writes files.

Should I disable Steam Cloud permanently?

Not usually. First create an independent backup and resolve conflicting timestamps carefully.

Further reading

References

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