Steam Deck cloud update allows suspended games to be picked up on PC

Called Dynamic Cloud Sync, the technology means that players can suspend a game on the Steam Deck, then boot up Steam on their PC and pick up where they left off.

“We anticipate that users will frequently suspend their Steam Deck without exiting the game, as is common with other hand-held gaming devices,” says Valve in the post. “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.”

As players put the Steam Deck into sleep mode, modified save data will be uploaded to the cloud, and new save data will also be downloaded when players wake up the Steam Deck from sleep mode as well.

If used without Dynamic Cloud Sync, players will be asked to return to the Steam Deck if booting the same game on PC, otherwise they’ll have to play without the handheld’s most recent save data.

According to the Steamworks post, to set it up players need to go to the relevant game’s Steamworks page, and select “Steam Cloud” in the applications drop menu. Then they just enable the cloud sync on suspend and resume. Before that, Valve says to go here and integrate the dynamic cloud save APIs.

Valve has also confirmed that the Steam Deck is still “on track” to launch next month, after the handheld was delayed in late 2021. “Global pandemic, supply issues, and shipping issues notwithstanding, it looks like we’ll be able to start getting these out the door by the end of February,” said the developer.

In other news, an Unpacking clone has been removed from iOS stores following a public message from the developers, though the game is still up elsewhere.