Microsoft launches PlayFab Game Saves for cross-platform save games between Xbox and Steam

Microsoft has announced PlayFab Game Saves, a new service that enables game save transfers and synchronization between games on Xbox and Steam. It builds on the PlayFab platform, which already offers APIs, services, and backend tools for developers. With this feature, players can carry over their progress across both platforms as long as they own the game on each. At launch, PlayFab Game Saves supports Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox on PC and cloud, along with Steam on PC and Steam Deck, with plans to add more platforms in the future.

The service is engineered to handle version conflicts and software dependencies, offering reliable save management across different builds. It functions both online and offline and features rollback support, allowing users to restore corrupted save files resulting from sync errors. Building on a decade of Xbox Game Saves reliability, this offering complements the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative but extends cross-save benefits beyond the Xbox ecosystem.

In terms of developer access, PlayFab Game Saves is currently available through a limited public preview, with interested developers able to join via a waitlist in PlayFab Game Manager. Microsoft confirmed the service will be free for any developer releasing games on Xbox, even for versions outside the Xbox ecosystem, with pricing for non-Xbox games to be disclosed later. It’s a move that fits with the latest Microsoft’s broader multiplatform push, especially with their upcoming Xbox Rog Ally handheld and the recent integration of third-party game stores to the Xbox App on Windows.