MHW Iceborne PC Save File Deleted - Failed To Read Save Data

Monster Hunter World save files are being deleted for lots of PC players after the Iceborne expansion’s release. A number of people have reported booting up the game after the update, only to be greeted by a message saying it failed to read save data. It’s a nasty problem, especially since lots of those affected have invested 100+ hours into the game. If you end up facing this error, there are several things you could try, and we’re going to list them all in our MHW Iceborne PC save file deleted guide.

MHW save data gone after update

The issue stems from the fact that the developers changed the way save data is stored at some point, and if you haven’t loaded up the game in a long time, it might not recognize your old data. This doesn’t mean it’s gone – yet. If you say yes when it asks you if you want to create new save data for Iceborne, then it will overwrite your old save. If you haven’t done this yet, your best bet would be to sit tight and wait for the developers to fix this issue. Some say disabling the DLC, then loading up the old save in the base game will convert it, making it safe to load into Iceborne, but we haven’t been able to confirm this.

If you’ve already overwritten your old saves, there are some things you could try. First off, check to see if there’s an older save in your Steam cloud storage. There also might be a backup save file on your hard drive – check the following folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\your_steam_id\582010\remote. If you manage to get the old save, you can either try the above, or patiently wait for a fix, which is what we recommend.

If you can’t get your old save back, you’ve basically lost it forever. One thing you could do is download a 100% save file, like this one. It won’t be your old character, but it will allow you to play through the expansion without having to play the base game again.