Steam gets Dynamic Cloud Sync for ‘seamless switching’ between Steam Deck and PC

Valve is adding Dynamic Cloud Sync to Steam’s cloud save feature. This should ensure that gamers who play a game on their Steam Deck can continue later on, for example, on a PC, without having to close the game first.

Dynamic Cloud Sync enables seamless switching between Deck and PC instances of a game, according to Valve. Steam already has a cloud save feature, but without the dynamic component it only works when closing a game. If players switch between devices and don’t exit the game, progress could be lost.

Valve believes that users will often put their Steam Deck to sleep without closing the game. With Dynamic Cloud Sync, the state of the game is saved at the moment just before the device is put to sleep. When the device wakes up, the save game data is loaded first. If players have played on another device in the meantime, that progression will also be taken into account.

If Dynamic Cloud Save is not used, players will see a warning when they start a game on the PC. It is then recommended to close the same game on the Steam Deck, but players will also be given the option to continue without their most recent progression.

Developers should add Dynamic Cloud Save support to their games. If games already use Steam Cloud, you can do so in three steps. Valve has put developer documentation online with explanations. Valve will begin shipping the Steam Deck in February.