Steam gets Dynamic Cloud Sync feature to automatically upload your Steam Deck saves

Valve has revealed a new Dynamic Cloud Sync feature for Steam Cloud, enhancing the background syncing of save game data to allow for more seamless system swapping between a PC and the upcoming Steam Deck handheld, without needing to exit the game on Steam Deck.

Valve states “We anticipate that users will frequently suspend their Steam Deck without exiting the game, as is common with other hand-held gaming devices. With Dynamic Cloud Sync, if they then choose to play on another device (whether a PC or another Steam Deck), their progress will be there waiting for them. ”

So how does it work? Well, quite simply, the Steam Deck will automatically upload modified save game data to the cloud whenever the device is put to sleep mode. This then means that you can pick up right where you were when you load up the game on a PC, automatically downloading the save game data.

When you return to your Steam Deck, Steam will then re-sync save files. The game can then take the updated save files and process them, potentially just re-loading the game with the updated progress so you can pick up exactly where you left off once again.

There are, however, a few snags to this. Firstly, games must support the Dynamic Cloud Sync APIs built into Steam. Without support, Steam will prompt you when you switch devices to ensure that the game has been fully shut down on the Steam Deck so save files can sync with the standard Cloud Sync. Dynamic Cloud Sync seems to only be targeting Steam Deck for automatic uploads, so you won’t be able to hop between PC and laptop in the same way. Finally, it’s not clear what happens if you’re playing without an internet connection for a while. Will your Steam Deck perk up when it detects a known WiFi and upload changes?

All in all, it’s a rather interesting innovation. The closest we’ve seen to this functionality comes on Xbox, where save files are automatically uploaded and synced wherever your profile goes, but which works on a system level and forces you to back out to the main menu or reload a game in order to sync up.

Steam Deck is Valve’s latest attempt at creating new gaming hardware. The handheld has a 7″ touchscreen and a pair of touchpads in addition to all the thumbsticks, face buttons and more that you’d expect. It’s built on AMD’s latest chipsets, offering decent PC gaming performance in a compact form factor. While it can run Windows, the default system is the Linux-based SteamOS 3.0, using Proton to run Windows games without modification.

Originally meant to ship in late 2021, Valve were forced to delay the release until February 2022, citing more difficulties with the global supply chain than they had originally factored in for their original announcement.

Source: Steam, Steamworks