SteamDB’s third-party UFS metadata for Forever Ago points to a Windows save folder under %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Third Shift\ForeverAgo\{64BitSteamID}\save\, with .sav files, plus a neighboring photos area containing .jpg images. Steam officially confirms Cloud support for AppID 1215940, but the exact local path should be checked on your current installation before any restore or edit.
Open the observed Windows folder
Exit Forever Ago to a stable menu, close the game, and wait for Steam’s Cloud status to finish. Then press Win + R and enter:
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Third Shift\ForeverAgo
If the folder exists, inspect its immediate children. A long numeric name may represent the 64-bit Steam account ID. Inside that account directory, look for save and photos folders rather than searching the whole drive for the first .sav file.
AppData is hidden by default, but the Run dialog can open the expanded path directly. Do not change folder visibility or security ownership only to reach it. If Windows says the directory does not exist, confirm that the base game has been launched and saved on this Windows profile, spelling and spaces are exact, and you are not looking at the soundtrack AppID.
Understand what the path evidence proves
SteamDB is not the developer and does not make the format supported for manual modification. A path visible in Cloud rules establishes synchronization intent more strongly than it establishes restoration behavior across every account and build.
Make a backup without racing Steam Cloud
Close the game on every device that uses the account. In the Steam client, wait until Forever Ago no longer shows an active upload, conflict, or out-of-sync state. Do not copy files while the game is writing a scene transition or journal update.
Create a new backup folder in a location you control outside the live ForeverAgo tree. Copy the entire numeric account directory, preserving both save and photos. Record the UTC time, last completed road stop, and Steam account used. A complete folder copy is easier to reason about than several detached .sav files with no matching photographs.
After copying, compare file counts and sizes between live data and backup. Open the backup only for inspection; do not launch the game with Steam pointed at a partially copied directory. Keep at least one older known-good backup until the newer one has loaded successfully.
Before backup
Finish the interaction, exit normally, close the game, and wait for Steam Cloud to stop updating.
During backup
Copy the account directory as a unit. Preserve progress and photos together without renaming the live files.
After backup
Write down the last recognizable scene and compare folder sizes. Keep the untouched copy read-only in practice.
Across devices
Do not open the game on PC and Deck alternately until synchronization has completed and timestamps agree.
Restore only from a known-good state
Use restoration only after identifying the actual problem. A missing Steam notification or one blocked interaction is not proof that the save is corrupt. First restart Steam, verify files for installation symptoms, and test a normal load without changing progress data.
If a restore is necessary, close the game everywhere, preserve the current live folder as a second backup, and compare timestamps. Restore the whole matching account data set rather than mixing one old .sav with a newer photos folder. Start Steam, pay attention to any Cloud conflict prompt, and choose based on the known scene and timestamp—not simply “cloud” or “local.”
Load once and verify the journal, latest road stop, and photographs before continuing. If Steam immediately overwrites the restored state, stop and seek device-specific guidance rather than repeating uploads and downloads.
Handle multiple accounts and Windows profiles
The numeric layer matters on a shared PC. Confirm which Steam account owns the playthrough before copying or restoring. Do not merge directories from two users because a file name looks similar. Family Sharing does not make save ownership interchangeable.
The %USERPROFILE% variable resolves to the current Windows user. A different Windows login has a different LocalLow tree even if it launches the same Steam account. OneDrive usually does not replace LocalLow automatically; verify actual paths rather than assuming a Documents backup includes the game.
Steam Deck uses a Linux/Proton environment and does not expose the same Windows Run path directly. Cloud synchronization is the supported bridge. A Deck compatibility prefix may contain a Windows-like LocalLow tree, but its location depends on Steam storage configuration and is outside this Windows path claim.
Avoid unsafe save advice
Do not open .sav files in a text editor, use a save editor, change the numeric account directory, or download another player’s completion data. The file format is not documented by the developer in the sources used here. Manual changes can break progress, Cloud reconciliation, or achievements.
Do not disable Cloud and delete the live folder as a first troubleshooting step. That removes redundancy before the cause is known. Likewise, do not publish a personal 64-bit Steam ID when asking for help; describe the folder layer without exposing account identifiers.
If the observed path is absent or differs in a current build, report the Windows version, Steam library context, whether the game created a save, and the exact non-sensitive parent path to the developer’s support channel. That evidence can update the guide without guessing.
Sources and verification boundary
- Forever Ago on Steam — official AppID and Steam Cloud support.
- SteamDB Cloud/UGC metadata for AppID 1215940 — third-party observation of the Windows
saveandphotospatterns. - Steam Support — official starting point for account, synchronization, and client-specific help.
The path was checked against third-party UFS metadata on October 10, 2026. It must be verified on the local current build before restoration. This page does not claim that the developer supports manual editing.