Game Save Genie vs SaveState
Game Save Genie
github.comSaveState
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Game Save Genie | SaveState |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Save Managers | 8.1 (#6) | 8.2 (#5) |
| License and support | Game Save Genie is MIT-licensed and directs users to file GitHub issues for problems and beta feedback. | SaveState is GPLv3-licensed, accepts bug reports and feature suggestions, and says code pull requests are not accepted. |
| Purpose | Game Save Genie automatically backs up and syncs PC game saves for games not protected by their launchers. | SaveState is a graphical app for backing up and restoring video game save files, including games without cloud saves. |
| Restore safeguards | Before restoring, it verifies and stages downloads, takes a safety snapshot, and avoids restoring while the game is running. | The v3.1 release describes preflight validation, staged extraction, atomic installation, and attempted rollback if replacement fails. |
| Self-hosting | Users can run a save server with Docker Compose and connect through an S3-compatible store; the project describes per-friend accounts as supported. | The project documents local desktop/AppImage operation and does not describe a self-hosted server mode. |
Plans
In their own words
Game Save Genie
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.
SaveState
SaveState is a graphical app for backing up and restoring video game saves, including games without cloud saves. It creates compressed ZIP backups, offers one-click backup and restore, and can rotate older backups automatically. Users can drop a game launcher shortcut onto the app to detect a game and search for its save folder. The desktop app supports Steam, Epic, GOG, Battle.net, Ubisoft, EA App, Playnite, and Heroic, as well as save discovery for emulators including RetroArch, Dolphin, ares, DuckStation, PPSSPP, and PCSX2. SaveState is free and GPLv3-licensed. Local backups need no account or configured provider; optional synchronization supports Google Drive, WebDAV, FTP/FTPS, SMB or network folders, and Git. Desktop releases are offered for Windows and Linux. Release notes describe Dolphin directory discovery for macOS locations. A separate Android app is in pre-release alpha and supports emulator detection, save scanning, ZIP backup and restore, and profile management. Some emulator saves in protected Android/data paths require a rooted device and superuser access through Root mode. The project describes preflight validation, staged extraction, atomic installation, and attempted rollback if replacement fails.