X4: Foundations: How to Migrate Linux Saves to Cross-Platform Steam Cloud

Check whether this is a native Linux installation

This procedure follows Egosoft’s February 2026 cloud transition for Windows, Linux and Steam Deck. The notice now says the changes have been applied. Most players need no intervention, but regular Linux desktop players can have existing saves in the old cloud location. Steam Deck users are excluded from the affected group unless they explicitly selected the native Linux runtime for X4. [1]

The published notice includes confirmation that the change occurred. [1]

Preserve the Linux account folder before switching machines

Make a backup of the X4 saves you want to keep before relying on another computer’s cloud copy. The Linux location is ~/.config/EgoSoft/X4/[steamid], where [steamid] is the unique number for the Steam account. Use the actual account folder, keeping its saves and settings together. Egosoft explicitly recommends backups for this transition, and also calls them a good idea on Windows. [1]

Use the Linux folder named in the announcement. [1]

The numbered folder identifies the Steam account. [1]

Steps

1. Back up the local Linux saves that you intend to preserve. [1]

Restart Steam, run X4 on Linux, then exit

Perform the migration on the Linux computer holding the existing progress. Restart its Steam client, run X4 there, then exit the game. The exit lets Steam update the cloud files. This order matters because Egosoft warns that first playing on another machine without these steps risks losing the existing Linux files. Do the local launch before treating a Windows or Deck download as the authoritative copy. [1]

Steps

1. Restart Steam on the Linux machine, run X4, and exit X4 to allow the cloud update. [1]

Understand why a local launch is required

Previously, Linux and Windows used distinct cloud storage locations. The change uses a Windows-like cloud path for both and translates it to the local Linux path when syncing. Existing Linux saves therefore need one local play session to be uploaded to that shared location. The procedure moves existing files into the new cloud arrangement; it is not a save-format conversion performed by changing filenames. [1]

Look in Steam Cloud if the expected local files are absent

If saves cannot be found in the listed local folders, Egosoft says they may still be in Steam Cloud. Its notice links the Steam Cloud website for X4, where available files can be downloaded manually and placed in the local savegame folder. That is a fallback for an existing cloud copy; availability is conditional, so the backup made before the transition remains useful. [1]

Steps

1. If local files are missing, inspect X4’s Steam Cloud files and place a manually downloaded save into the local savegame folder. [1]