Game Save Genie vs GSM

Game Save Genie backs up and syncs PC game saves for games without save protection from their launchers. It uses the Ludusavi database to locate saves for more than 19,000 games, and users can track folders and files manually, including emulator saves. Backups run when a game closes and every 10 minutes while it runs. Each backup is an immutable, checksummed snapshot, and users can restore a selected version. The tool supports Google Drive, OneDrive, S3 buckets, and other rclone destinations; unchanged save files are not uploaded again. Users can pull newer saves onto another PC, with save paths remapped across Windows, Linux, and macOS usernames. Before restoring, it verifies and stages downloads, makes a safety snapshot, and avoids restoring while a game is running. The project says it has no accounts, servers of its own, or telemetry. Windows single-machine backups are described as stable; cross-machine sync and Linux/Steam Deck support are beta. It is free and MIT-licensed.

GSM is free, open-source software for versioned game-save backups on Linux and Windows. It uploads backup sets to cloud storage, synchronizes the library between machines, and restores saves when needed. Ludusavi provides automatic game-save detection, while manual backup is available for games that are not detected. Rclone handles cloud uploads, and GSM creates SHA256 integrity files for each backup. Retention can be configured separately for each game. Restore choices include the newest backup, every stored backup, or the newest backup for one selected game. The project is designed for a shared Linux and Windows library without one system corrupting or deleting the other side's data. Linux distributions include graphical and text interfaces plus AppImage support. Windows offers a graphical build and a single-file EXE. GSM uses Rclone's copy command for cloud operations. The repository uses the MIT License, and its releases page lists “GSM - Definitive edition.”