Moving your progress from Xbox Game Pass to a Steam copy of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't officially supported by Sandfall Interactive, but manual file migration works entirely fine. Because Game Pass encrypts and structures local app data differently than Steam, you can't just drag and drop save files directly. You need to locate the correct Windows container, extract the primary .sav file, rename it, and place it into your Steam directory.
If your subscription is expiring or you simply prefer having your library on Valve's platform, this manual workaround takes less than five minutes. You'll keep your levels, gear, and story progress without starting over from scratch.
Finding Your Xbox Game Pass Save Files
Windows stores Microsoft Store and Xbox app game data deep within hidden directories under your user profile. To access these folders, make sure your File Explorer is set to show hidden items by checking the box under the View tab.
Navigate to the local package folder for the game by opening File Explorer and entering this path:
C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\KeplerInteractive.Expedition33_ymj30pw7xe604\SystemAppData\wgs\
Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual Windows account name.
Inside the wgs folder, you'll see a series of alphanumeric subfolders. Open the longest folder name, which contains another folder with a randomized string. Look inside the most recently modified folder. You'll see a file named container alongside several long, extensionless files with alphanumeric titles.
Identify your actual save file using file size and date modification. The correct save file is usually around 60 KB in size. Copy this file to your desktop as a temporary backup before making any changes.
Preparing Your Steam Save Directory
Before dropping your extracted save into Steam, the game needs to generate the proper folder structure on your local drive. If you haven't booted up the Steam version yet, do that now.
Launch Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 through Steam, skip the initial cutscenes, create a manual save file at the first available checkpoint, and exit the game completely. This forces Steam to create the necessary profile and save directory.
Next, locate your Steam save location. It typically resides in:
C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Local\Sandfall\Saved\SaveGames\
Inside this directory, you'll find a folder named after your unique Steam ID, which is a long sequence of numbers such as 76561198015267336. Open that folder to view your local Steam saves.
Renaming and Transferring the File
Steam expects save files to follow a strict naming convention to recognize them correctly.
Take the 60 KB file you copied from your Game Pass directory and rename it to EXPEDITION_0.sav. If you want to replace a specific save slot, you can adjust the number accordingly, but 0 handles your primary slot.
Move or copy EXPEDITION_0.sav directly into your Steam ID folder within the SaveGames directory, replacing the default save file generated when you tested the game earlier.
Launch the game through Steam. When you reach the main menu, your save thumbnail might occasionally display placeholder or old information from your initial test run. Don't panic; load the save file anyway. Once you load into the game and create a new manual save, the menu thumbnails will refresh and reflect your correct progress.
Common Mistakes and Troubleshooting
Most transfer errors stem from picking the wrong file from the Game Pass wgs directory. If you pull a file that is too large or too small, the game might crash on startup or throw an error stating the save version is invalid. Always verify that your target file sits right around the 60 KB mark.
Another common issue involves cloud synchronization conflicts. If you notice your transferred save disappearing after launching the game, Xbox cloud sync or Steam Cloud might be overwriting your local changes. Temporarily disable cloud synchronization on both platforms while performing the file swap to prevent data collisions.
Finally, remember that this method only bridges PC Game Pass to Steam on Windows. Cross-play and cross-save features between PlayStation 5 and PC remain locked by platform restrictions, meaning console saves cannot be migrated using this file structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I transfer my progress from PS5 to Steam?
No. Console save files on PlayStation 5 are encrypted and restricted to Sony's ecosystem. This manual transfer method only applies to moving files between PC environments like Xbox App/Game Pass and Steam.
Will achievements unlock automatically after transferring?
Platform achievements do not retroactively unlock based on save files alone. Once you load your save on Steam, subsequent milestones and story progression will trigger achievements normally as you play.
Do I need to keep the Game Pass version installed?
No. Once you verify that your save file loads properly and functions inside the Steam version, you can safely uninstall the Game Pass version to free up hard drive space.
Is there an official cross-progression system for Expedition 33?
Sandfall Interactive supports Xbox Play Anywhere, which allows seamless cross-save functionality between Xbox consoles and the Microsoft Store PC app, but Steam requires independent local files.
