The most awaited PC port of the first Red Dead Redemption game was released recently, and this has led many to try the game out and experience the life of John Marston. Well, obviously, if you have already played the sequel, RDR2, then you will be disappointed by the game’s graphics, but for a game released originally over a decade ago, complaining is the least you can do. Rockstar’s one of the best creations is the RDR series, and the first game is a testament to this fact. Anyway, even though RDR is a really well-made game, it isn’t immune to the bugs and issues that are common in PC games. The game not saving issue is something that many are unable to fix which is why we have shared this guide to help you if you are struggling with the same problem. So, here’s everything you need to know about the same.
Well, this issue can be caused by a variety of factors, including corrupted saves, the game not having permission to write data on the hard drive, any internal conflicts, and more. Since the root cause can be anything, you can’t really stick to one workaround and expect a solution. This is why you have to resort to trying various workarounds. Don’t know which? Don’t worry; we have got you covered.
Also read: Red Dead Redemption 1 Audio Issue on Steam Deck: Is there any fix yet
Red Dead Redemption (RDR) Game Not Saving Issue: How to fix
Restart
Well, in case you found out that the game isn’t saving your progress after you head over to your safe house and press the Save option, then consider restarting the game. If this doesn’t work, try a PC restart to ensure there are no background applications that might be causing this issue.
Run as Admin
As mentioned earlier, this issue can be caused by permission-related problems, which is why running the game as admin is a viable fix. How to do so? Access the game’s .exe file by visiting the installation directory, or access its shortcut. Now, right-click on it and then select the Run as Administrator option. After this, try saving manually and then check whether the issue persists.
Change Windows Username
Although weird, the issue with most games unable to save your progress might be related to your Windows username having special characters. If your username does have special characters, consider changing it or creating a new Microsoft account, and then run RDR to check whether the game saves your progress.
Disable Cloud Saves
While Cloud Saves are proven to be a very handy feature, they can sometimes cause issues like this in games. So, what you can do is try disabling them and then check whether the issue persists. How? Launch RDR which will start the Rockstar Launcher. Here, you will find the Cloud Saves option. Disable it and then start the game. After this, perform a manual save to check whether the issue persists.
Corrupted Saves
Well, this issue can also be caused by a corrupted save file. If the current saved file of your progress is corrupted, then obviously the game will not be able to overwrite it with new data. In such a case, you will have to delete the save file and then start from scratch. This is the only way to ensure that you can continue saving your progress after the current save has been corrupted.
Delete Config Files
The in-game settings or custom modifications can also be the cause of this issue. To rule out this possibility, we recommend deleting the config files of RDR. These files will be autogenerated after you launch the game, so you won’t be missing out on anything. To access the game’s config files, head over to this directory: “\Documents\Rockstar Games\Red Dead Redemption\”. Now, delete the following files:
- gabindings.xml
- graphicsOptions.xml
- options.xml
After deleting, launch the game to check whether the same issue persists. Chances are that after deleting these files, the unable to save game issue disappears. If not, try the next workaround.
Try saving via camp
You might already know that sleeping on the bed of your safe house initiates a manual save in RDR, similar to that of RDR 2. However, there is one more way to force a manual save. It is via the Set Up Camp feature. To set up camp, first visit the wilderness and then press the B button on your keyboard to access the Inventory menu. Now, select the Kit tab and then the Camp option. Selecting this will make your character set up camp, after which a manual save will occur. Now, check whether the game actually saved your progress or not.
Verify Integrity of Game Files
Another workaround worth trying is to verify the integrity of game files via Steam. This is a comprehensive process that finds and fixes any file-related issues of a game. To initiate the process, open Steam, go to Library, and right-click on RDR. Now, select Properties, and then the Installed Files tab. Here, select the Verify Integrity of Game Files option. Once the scan is completed, launch the game to check whether the save game feature works as intended.
Reinstall
Well, if none of the workarounds have been any help, then the last workaround left to try is a complete reinstall of the game. A new installation might be all that’s needed to fix the issue. But when you install the game again, ensure that it isn’t installed on the system drive (i.e. the drive on which Windows is installed). Another thing to keep in mind is to install RDR on an SSD. This will make load times very low and boost performance to some extent.
For now, these are the workarounds you can try to fix the unable to save game issue in Red Dead Redemption. For PC games, such issues are no surprise, but we do hope that the developers release a patch fix for the same. Anyway, we hope that you find this guide informative. If you did, consider visiting Android Gram for more such interesting content on all things gaming.
