Distinguish the symptom
| What happened | What to check first |
|---|---|
| A save chooser appears | The September game update asks which save to use when it finds more than one. Identify the progress represented before selecting. |
| Progress differs between two PCs | Confirm the same Steam account and game product. The original player thread documents divergent unlocks across devices. |
| Steam reports a cloud conflict | This is a platform sync choice, separate from the game’s own save picker. |
| Only an achievement is missing | Inventory or distance can be intact despite a tracking failure. Check the achievement notes. |
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Sources: September 21 official update · Progress across two PCs report
What the game update promises
The developer says that finding multiple saves now opens a save-slot picker and that this should fix the lost-progress issue. “Should fix” is the announcement’s expectation, not a promise to reconstruct a save that no longer exists.
Use the current build so that this chooser is available where applicable. The announcement does not identify each retail filename, a manual restore directory or a Steam-to-Xbox transfer path.
Sources: September 21 official update
Preserve the last good progress
Pause new progress on the affected copy
Keep the last known good device available. Avoid choosing an unfamiliar conflict option merely to clear the message.
Check Steam’s sync state
For a Steam copy, address an “unable to sync” warning before launching. Valve explains that launching despite it can create a local/cloud conflict.
Match the conflict to your play history
If Steam offers local versus cloud data, compare the shown dates with the device and session that had the desired progress. A newer timestamp alone may belong to an unwanted empty session.
Escalate without deleting data
If the desired save is not identifiable, keep the devices and messages and contact the developer with the store, account, build and last successful session. Valve states that Steam Support cannot recover lost saves.
Valve notes that progress may still exist on the previous machine after a failed sync. Preserve that copy before launching an unwanted empty session; the linked backup guide identifies the retail Windows Steam folder and explains the limits of its file-copy procedure.
If joining problems occurred before the reset, preserve that detail and compare it with the connection checklist.
The retail Steam cloud configuration identifies the Windows data folder. Use the whole-folder backup and restore guide to preserve a dated copy before changing local files or resuming sync.
Sources: Valve: Steam Cloud · September 21 official update