Save Vault

The Vault is Playback’s automatic save backup system that protects your game progress without any effort on your part.

What is it?

The Vault silently backs up your in-game saves every time you play. If your cartridge battery dies, your save gets corrupted, or you accidentally overwrite your progress, you can recover from the Vault.

How it works

Automatic backups happen:

• Every 5 minutes while playing (if the save has changed)
• When you exit a game
• When the game writes to save memory

Storage:

• Up to 250 backups per game are kept
• When you reach 250 backups, the oldest save is replaced by the newest save
• Each backup is timestamped so you know exactly when it was created

Where are Vault saves stored?

Inside the vault folder, saves are organized by game title:

vault/
├── Game Title A/
│   ├── 2024-12-28 14.30.15.sav
│   ├── 2024-12-28 15.45.22.sav
│   └── ...
├── Game Title B/
│   └── ...
└── Game Title C/
    └── ...

Accessing the Vault

From the Play tab: Look for the Vault button next to the Settings cog icon on the right side of the Play tab. Clicking it opens your system’s file browser directly to that game’s vault folder.

From the menu:

1. Click the Playback logo (top-left)
2. Select Vault from the dropdown menu

Both methods open the same location — your vault folder for the currently inserted game.

Restoring a save from the Vault

1. Open the Vault folder for your game
2. Find the backup you want (sorted by date and time)
3. Copy the .sav file to a convenient location (like your Desktop)
4. In Playback, go to Data > Upload Save
5. Select the backup file you copied
6. The save is restored to your cartridge

File format

Vault saves use the standard .sav format, compatible with most emulators. For SNES, .sav and .srm are interchangeable—just rename the extension if needed.

Use cases

Vault vs Autosave to Cartridge

These are two different features that work together:

Both features can be active at the same time. The Vault provides backup protection on your computer, while Autosave to Cartridge keeps your physical cartridge up-to-date so you can continue playing on original hardware.