How to Recover Deleted Game Files on PC [4 Ways Included]

In the post, 5 effective ways about how to recover deleted game files on PC are offered. Please refer to the specific steps for efficient recovery of deleted or lost game data.

By @Kelsey Last Updated December 11, 2024

How do I recover a game I accidentally deleted?

 

Accidentally deleted save game. Any way to recover file?

I accidentally deleted my save file. Last night I reached level 50 Legend level in nightmare mode and decided to start The Following DLC. When I started it, it was in normal mode. 5 minutes ago I deleted it, so I could restart in nightmare mode. To my absolute shock and horror, it turns out I deleted the entire save file. Please tell me how to recover deleted game files on PC, because I can NOT do that all over again.

       

- Question from Reddit

Playing games on a computer is the main way for many people to spend their time. But our files are constantly under threat of data loss, and users report that there are many reasons that can lead to loss of game files on hard drives and can happen at any time.

Such as system errors, virus attacks, hard drive formatting, etc. will cause loss of game files. You may also uninstall unused games and delete the files in question in order to free up disk space, and once you delete other games by mistake, they will disappear from your PC permanently.

You might think your game files have been deleted on your computer, but they're still stored in their original location, and you can learn how to recover deleted games on PC in this guide.

How to recover deleted game files on Windows PC

In this section, we'll discuss how to recover deleted game saves on PC. Whether you want to recover accidentally deleted data or recover permanently lost game files after disk formatting, you can find an effective way.

Way 1. Get deleted game files on PC from Recycle Bin

If you accidentally delete your game files on your Windows PC and haven't had time to clean them up, you'll also have a chance to get your data back from the Recycle Bin within 30 days. Now, let's see how to recover deleted game files on your computer from Recycle Bin.

Step 1. Double-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, then locate the deleted game files from them, drag the mouse to select them, right-click on these files and select Restore.

Step 2. Successfully restoring the game files will be returned to the location where they were once saved.

Way 2. Recover lost game files on PC using File History

File History is a useful tool provided by Windows PCs to help users restore folders to earlier versions. You can restore the folder containing the game data to a version where the files have not been lost.

Notes:✎...
This method works if you have enabled the File History feature before you lost your game files. Otherwise, you will not be able to find file history.

Step 1. Click Start, enter restore files in the search bar, and press Enter.

Step 2. Look for the folder where the deleted files are stored in the popping-up File History window.

Step 3. Click folder and tap below the Recover button and your folder will be restored to the version of the game files that have not been lost.

Way 3. Recover deleted game files on PC from Windows Backup

If you have backed up your Windows PC beforehand, using Backup and Restore to restore deleted game files is also an effective method. Learn how to restore deleted games on PC with the instructions below.

Step 1. Click Start > Select Control Panel > Click on System and Maintenance option > select Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Step 2. Click the Restore my files button in the Restore section.

Step 3. Select Browse for files or Browse for folders to check the backup. Then find and select the deleted files that you want to recover.

Step 4. Click Restore to get back lost game files.

Way 4. Restore deleted game files on PC via Previous Versions

Previous versions were windows PCs built-in data recovery features that help users restore deleted or lost files and folders to their previous state. Continue on to learn how to recover permanently deleted files through Progressive Versions.

Step 1. Click Start, select Computer, and locate the folder or hard drive that contains the deleted game files.

Step 2. Right-click on the drive or folder and select the Restore previous versions option to select the previous version that contains the missing files.

Step 3. Click Open and select Open in File History to see if the version contains the deleted game files you want to recover.

Step 4. Then go back to the previous interface and click Restore to get back the deleted files.

Way 5. Recover lost game files on PC via ADR for Windows for free

If you can't get back your lost data through the above methods, don't worry, using professional data recovery software is a more efficient solution. Even if you don't have the habit of backing up, or don't have file versions saved like File History enabled, a great data recovery tool can help users get back data lost in any situation.

MyRecover is an easy-to-use PC data recovery software designed by AOMEI, the leading benchmark in the data security industry. It only takes a few clicks for the user to complete the disk scan and get all the deleted and lost files.

✿Main features of MyRecover

● Support data recovery in various situations. Human deletion, system crash, disk formatting, malware attacks, etc. ● Supports many types of storage media. HDDs, SSDs, USB flash drives, external hard drives, SD cards, etc. ● Supports maintaining the format, name and path of all recovered files. ● Highly compatible. Support for Windows 11/10/8/7 and NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, ReFS in Windows Server. (Compatible with both 64-bit and 32-bit operating systems.) ● High speed and high recovery rate. With the help of an advanced scanning engine and powerful data recovery algorithms, this tool can find and recover data at a very high speed and maintain a very high recovery success rate.

Click the download button to get MyRecover and learn how to recover games that have been permanently deleted on your PC with a few clicks.

Download SoftwareWin 11/10/8/7/Server
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Step 1. Launch the application, hover the mouse over the drive or partition where you lost your game files and click Scan.

Step 2. Next, it will automatically scan and look for deleted or lost files in that partition, which you can view in the list.

Step 3. Select the game files you need to recover and click the Recover x files button, you need to make sure that the storage destination has enough space for saving the recovered game data.

β˜…Tips:
The free version of the app supports users to recover 500MB of data in total, and you can upgrade to the Pro version to enjoy unlimited data recovery and 24/7 technical support.

In the end

That's all for how to recover deleted game files on PC. You can try to get your files back from the Recycle Bin or backup first, and if you've never had a file backup and file history, you can also use MyRecover to recover all your lost files.

In addition, you can never predict what kind of threats will be suffered from the data, in order to ensure data security, you better use a professional backup tool to protect important files, AOMEI Backupper can back up files to hard drives, SD cards, external hard drives, cloud storage services, etc. for free, using it you no longer have to worry about data loss.