Where Are Europa Universalis 5 Save Files Located?
Where Europa Universalis 5 keeps local and cloud saves on PC, and how the Paradox Documents folder is organized.
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Europa Universalis 5 follows the Paradox house layout: a Paradox Interactive folder in Documents with a save games subfolder. Local saves land there as .eu5 files, compressed or plain except in ironman. The path is refreshingly boring after years of Paradox games doing exactly this.
Cloud saves duplicate into the Steam userdata tree under app ID 3450310. Linux runs through Proton, which mirrors the Documents path inside compatdata for the same app ID. Watch for .tmp files after crashes; they are interrupted saves waiting for a rename.
Where Europa Universalis 5 stores this, by platform
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Europa Universalis V\save games
Local saves as .eu5 files, the classic Paradox Documents layout. Cloud copies sit under Steam userdata for app 3450310. A save that vanishes from the menu is often a .tmp file needing a rename after an interrupted write.
~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/3450310/pfx
Proton prefix for app ID 3450310; continue inside pfx to drive_c and the same Documents path as Windows. Cloud backups mirror under the Linux userdata tree. Treat .tmp orphans the same way: rename to .eu5 and test.
Frequently asked questions
how do I back up Europa Universalis 5 saves
Copy the save games folder to external storage with the game closed. Cloud saves also keep a local backup under the Steam userdata tree for app ID 3450310. Manual copies protect against the .tmp rename bug, where an interrupted save keeps the wrong extension.
my save does not show in the load menu
Check whether the file ends in .tmp instead of .eu5, which happens when a save or crash interrupts the write. Rename it to .eu5 and it usually loads. The game writes .tmp first and renames on clean completion, so orphans mean something broke mid-save.
should I use local or cloud saves
Local saves sit in Documents for easy modding and editing. Cloud saves upload to Steam with a backup under userdata. Ironman runs restrict editing either way, so pick local when you plan to tinker and cloud when you hop between machines.
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