PSA: Octopath Traveler 2 Demo Save Progress Isn’t Carrying Over on Steam Deck

A couple of weeks ago, Square Enix dropped an Octopath Traveler 2 demo for those who wanted to experience the next installment in the HD-2D series before its release. Players could pick one of the eight characters to try out for up to three hours, with their demo save progress carrying over upon the release of the full game on February 24, 2023…

… Or, that’s what was supposed to happen, anyway. Except Steam Deck players appear to be having issues transferring their demo progress over, forcing them to have to start all over again from the beginning. And while three hours doesn’t seem like much to replay, the wasted time still stings. Trust me, I speak from experience.

Octopath 2 Demo “With Save Game Data Carry Over” … Unless You’re On Steam Deck

Last night, I decided to finish the Octopath Traveler 2 demo so that I could wake up in the morning and have the full version ready to play instead of having to wait a couple of weeks to continue after my three-hour playtime limit was up. A genius move, or so I thought.

So imagine how quickly my excitement turned into disappointment upon downloading the full release and hopping in, only to find the “Continue” option grayed out on the main menu, with my demo save nowhere to be found. “No worries, I’ll just jump back into the demo and save again; that’ll fix it,” I thought before realizing that I could no longer access the demo. Oh, f**k.

Related: All Octopath Traveler II Trophies and Achievements Listed

Naturally, my next step was to visit Reddit, where I very quickly found a thread where multiple Steam Deck users reported having the same issue: “where is my demo save?” Well, glad it’s not just me.

Some players have reportedly managed to get around the problem by running Octopath Traveler 2 on their PC first, where their demo save has successfully carried over, and then having their save sync with the Steam Cloud. Once synced, they were then able to download the save on their Steam Deck. If you haven’t downloaded it at all yet, try following these steps first.

But for those who have downloaded the full version of Octopath 2 onto their Steam Deck, it appears as though we’re out of luck. Our demo save is just gone, wiped from the console’s files upon installation, with no way to get it back. You can try looking at your Steam account’s Steam Cloud page and seeing if it’s there, but it wasn’t for me, so YMMV.

Related: Octopath Traveler II Review | Fight Giants, Raise Dragons, Mug Children

I’ve reached out to Square Enix for comment on the situation, though they’ve yet to respond, so I’ll update this article if they do. Hopefully, there’s something they can do, but it’s looking likely that the only option is to start Octopath Traveler 2 again from the beginning—press F to pay respects.