Where Forza Horizon 6 saves location on PC and how to copy them

Losing hundreds of hours of progress to a corrupted cloud save is a recurring complaint across the Forza Horizon series, and Forza Horizon 6 keeps the same risk on PC. The fix is boring but reliable. You copy the local save folder somewhere safe before anything goes wrong, so you always have a clean point to restore from. The exact folder depends on whether you bought the game through Steam or the Microsoft Store.

Quick answer: Close Forza Horizon 6 completely, open your save folder, copy the entire user/save folder (not single files), and paste it to your Desktop, Documents, or an external drive with the date in the name. On Steam that folder is under %LOCALAPPDATA%\ForzaHorizon6\LocalStorage_Shared\; on the Microsoft Store version it lives in %SystemDrive%\XboxGames\GameSave\.

Forza Horizon 6 save file locations on PC

The two storefront versions store data in completely different places, and they are not interchangeable. They use different folder structures, account systems, and cloud sync behavior, so dragging files from one into the other can break your save. Use the path that matches your install.

Version	What to copy
Steam save data	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\ForzaHorizon6\LocalStorage_Shared\User_<user-id>\`
Steam config / local storage	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\ForzaHorizon6\LocalStorage_Shared\`
Microsoft Store / Xbox app save	`%SystemDrive%\XboxGames\GameSave\pgs\u_<userID>_16D460\<versionID>\ContainersRoot\User_<xboxProfileID>\`

The folder names with angle brackets vary by account, install version, and drive, so treat them as patterns rather than exact text. On Steam, open %LOCALAPPDATA%\ForzaHorizon6\LocalStorage_Shared\ and look for the subfolder that begins with User_. That folder is tied to your local profile and holds the progress you care about.

The Microsoft Store version is messier. The save sits inside the Xbox save container system under %SystemDrive%\XboxGames\GameSave\, typically C:\XboxGames\GameSave. Open the GameSave folder and you will see pgs and wgs subfolders. Those two are the important ones. Older Microsoft Store titles also kept saves under C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.624F8B84B80_8wekyb3d8bbwe\SystemAppData\, where the wgs folder (and a Helium folder on some versions) holds the data.

How to back up your Forza Horizon 6 save

Fully close Forza Horizon 6. Do not minimize it or leave it running in the background. The game writes to the local save when you exit, so a clean shutdown ensures you copy the most recent progress.

Press Windows + R, paste the save path for your version, and press Enter. For Steam that is %LOCALAPPDATA%\ForzaHorizon6\LocalStorage_Shared\. For the Microsoft Store version, open C:\XboxGames\GameSave.

Copy the full folder, not a single file. On Steam, copy the entire User_<user-id> folder. On the Microsoft Store version, copy the whole GameSave folder, or at minimum the pgs and wgs folders inside it.

Paste the copy somewhere outside the game directory, such as your Desktop, Documents folder, or an external drive. Keeping it off the game drive means it survives a Windows reinstall or a drive wipe.

Rename the backup with the date so you can tell versions apart, for example ForzaHorizon6_Save_Backup_2026-06-12. Repeating this regularly gives you a known-good restore point if the cloud version ever corrupts.

Tip: If you mainly play on console but want a PC backup, sign in to the Microsoft Store and Xbox app with the same account, install and launch the game, let it sync, then exit. Wait about a minute, confirm the save file’s modified date changed, and then copy the GameSave folder.

How to restore a Forza Horizon 6 backup

Close the game first. Then make a copy of the current save, even if it looks broken, so you do not lose your only fallback.

Copy your dated backup folder and paste it into the matching save location for your version. Replace files only when you are certain it is the correct backup.

Launch the game. If Steam or the Xbox app asks whether to use cloud or local data, read the prompt carefully and choose the local save you just restored. After a Windows reinstall, picking the local copy during sync is what brings your progress back.

You know the restore worked when the game loads with your expected garage, credits, and progress instead of starting fresh or reporting a mismatch.

Cloud sync warnings and common mistakes

Always copy files instead of moving them. Cloud saves can overwrite local changes the moment the game decides the cloud version is newer, even when the cloud copy is actually behind. This often happens when your connection is busy and the game writes progress to the local drive but delays the upload, leaving the two copies out of sync.

Back up the entire user save folder, not one random file inside it.
Do not rename files inside the save directory.
Consider temporarily disabling cloud sync before restoring files, then choose the local save during the first sync.
Do not mix Steam and Microsoft Store saves; their structures are not compatible.
If the game stops detecting your save, restore your backup right away.

If you plan to reinstall Windows, back up the save folder before wiping the drive. A cleaner option is to move the installed game to a second drive, disconnect that drive during the reinstall, then reconnect it afterward so the Xbox app or Steam relinks the existing files without a full redownload. Either way, the local save folder is the safety net, and keeping a dated copy of it is the single most reliable way to avoid starting over.