The once-delayed Steam Deck is now on track to ship Q1 2022 if all goes according to plan. Today, we’re learning that Valve has developed a new quick-resume feature called Dynamic Cloud Sync, which will make it easier to swap between the console and PC.
Valve’s new feature is enabled via Steamworks and allows players the ability to “seamlessly move between Deck and PC instances of the game without needing to worry about exiting the game on the Steam Deck.”
“With Dynamic Cloud Sync, Steam will automatically upload all modified save game data to the cloud prior to the device entering sleep mode,” explains a developer blog post. “Users can then resume their game on any PC, laptop or other device. Steam will also automatically download any save game changes when users return to their Steam Deck and wake up the device.”
“Without Dynamic Cloud Sync enabled, Steam will still track when save game data is changed on the Steam Deck. However, any user who suspends their Deck while your game is running and then tries to resume that game on a different device, will be prompted to first return to their Deck to close the running process or continue without their most recent save game progress.”
If you think this sounds familiar to say, the Nintendo Switch, it isn’t. The only thing the Switch can do is back up saves to the cloud but you’ll need to sign up for Nintendo Switch Online.
“With Dynamic Cloud Sync, Steam will automatically upload all modified save game data to the cloud prior to the device entering sleep mode,” explains the developer. “Users can then resume their game on any PC, laptop or other device. Steam will also automatically download any save game changes when users return to their Steam Deck and wake up the device.”
“Without Dynamic Cloud Sync enabled, Steam will still track when save game data is changed on the Steam Deck. However, any user who suspends their Deck while your game is running and then tries to resume that game on a different device, will be prompted to first return to their Deck to close the running process or continue without their most recent save game progress.”
Developers have access to the feature but it isn’t enabled by default.
