Sons of the Forest is a survival-horror game about building, crafting, and staying alive on a cannibal-infested island with friends. Co-op is where it comes alive - clearing caves, fortifying a base, and surviving the nights together. But the world you build is tied to the host, so when they log off, everyone else is stranded on the beach.

This guide covers where the save lives, which folder is actually your co-op world, the Steam ID mistake that makes a transferred island invisible, and whether you need a dedicated server at all.

Where Is the Sons of the Forest Save File Located?

On the Steam version, paste this into File Explorer’s address bar or the Win+R Run box:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Endnight\SonsOfTheForest\Saves

AppData is hidden by default on Windows, so browsing to C:\Users\<YourName>\ will not show it. The path above opens regardless.

On the Xbox / Microsoft Store build? That version stores saves under a Packages path with obfuscated folder names instead. If the LocalLow path above is empty, you are on the Store version.

Which Folder Is Your Co-op World?

The structure goes three levels deep, and each level matters:

Saves\<your Steam ID>\Multiplayer\<numbered folder>\
  • <your Steam ID> - the save folder is scoped to one Steam account.
  • Multiplayer - co-op worlds only. SinglePlayer sits beside it and is a different world.
  • <numbered folder> - one per save, for example 0123456789. Inside are several .json files including SaveData.json, GameSetup.json and PlayerInventorySaveData.json.

Copy the entire numbered folder, not one file out of it. A Sons of the Forest world is the whole set of .json files together, and a half-copied folder either fails to load or loads wrong.

If you are unsure which numbered folder is the right world, sort Multiplayer by Date modified - the one you played last is the newest.

The Steam ID Mistake

This is the reason most transferred islands never show up in the load menu.

The Saves path is per-account. The numbered folder you were sent came from the original host’s Steam ID folder, and it has to be dropped into the new host’s own Steam ID folder:

correct:   Saves\<NEW host's Steam ID>\Multiplayer\<numbered folder>\
wrong:     Saves\<original host's Steam ID>\Multiplayer\<numbered folder>\

If the zip recreated the sender’s Steam ID folder, the game will not look inside it. Move the numbered folder up into the folder that was already there with your own ID on it, and the world appears.

How Do You Save in Sons of the Forest?

It autosaves as you play, and you can save manually by building and using a tent or shelter, which brings up a save prompt.

Because progress is written automatically, quit through the menu rather than force-closing, so the last session is on disk before anyone copies the folder. If you are unsure, save manually at a tent before you log off.

Does Sons of the Forest Need a Dedicated Server?

No. There are two ways to play together:

  • Host-based (P2P) co-op - the default. One player hosts for up to 8 players and everyone drops into their island. The world lives on that machine, and the session only exists while they are online.
  • Dedicated servers - Sons of the Forest does ship an official dedicated server, run via SteamCMD, also holding 8 players. It keeps the world always available, at the cost of a machine running around the clock or a hosting bill.

There is a third path that gets you the always-available world without the server: share the save, so whoever is around can host locally.

How to Move the World Manually

  1. Save at a tent, quit to the menu, and close the game fully.
  2. Open %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Endnight\SonsOfTheForest\Saves.
  3. Go into your Steam ID folder, then Multiplayer, and find the numbered folder - by Date modified if in doubt.
  4. Zip the numbered folder and send it over.
  5. New host: extract it into Saves\<their own Steam ID>\Multiplayer\, not into a recreated folder with the sender’s ID.
  6. New host: launch the game, load the world, invite the group. Whoever loads it is the host.

Then reverse the whole thing after the session, every session.

How SaveSync Handles It

SaveSync syncs the full save folder to the right Steam ID path on every PC in the group, so the transfer cannot land in the wrong account folder.

  1. Click Sons of the Forest in the list on the left to open its save management page.
  2. Click “+ New Save” (top right).
  3. Select your world from the dialog and click “Create Save”.
  4. Wait for the green checkmark.
  5. Click the share icon, search your friend’s Steam username, click “Share”.
  6. They click “Activate” - then they can host the island and the save syncs automatically.

It also keeps a full save history, so you can see who uploaded what and when, and roll back if a night on the island goes badly.

Why This Beats Running a Server

  • No 24/7 machine or hosting bill. A dedicated server needs a box online around the clock; this does not.
  • Everyone stays on the latest world. Loading an old copy erases the base upgrades, cleared caves and loot from recent sessions.
  • The folder moves as a set. Hand-copying .json files individually is how worlds end up half-transferred.
  • Right-sized for friends. Dedicated servers make sense for large persistent communities, not for five people surviving together.

Survive Together, Whoever’s Online

Sons of the Forest is brutal enough without the island being locked behind one player’s schedule. Quit cleanly, move the whole numbered folder, drop it under your own Steam ID, and hosting can sit with whoever is free.

New here? Start with Getting Started with SaveSync. Also useful: how to play co-op when the host is offline, how to switch host in co-op games, and the 7 Days to Die save sharing guide if your group plays both.