How Saving Works in Shift At Midnight — Autosave, Local Files & No Steam Cloud

Searching "shift at midnight save" usually means one of three worries: does it autosave, will I lose progress if I quit, and what happens to my save after the ending? Here's the verified picture.

How Saving Works

• Automatic, per-shift saving. Surviving a shift writes your progress — you never restart from night one after completing a night. (Confirmed by the developer's update notes and player reports: "the game saves automatically, after every shift.")
• Local save files only. There is no Steam Cloud support — the Steam feature list has achievements, co-op and accessibility options, but no cloud saves. Your progress lives in a local file on your machine.
• Multiplayer note: the host's save is the one that progresses; joining someone else's lobby doesn't create a parallel save for you.

What "No Steam Cloud" Means in Practice

• One machine, one progression. Playing on a second PC means starting over (no sync).
• Back up manually if you care. Community threads include players who lost access to their save and had to restart from Night 9 multiple times. No official export/backup tool exists; if your save file matters to you, copy it before major nights. (The cause of those losses isn't officially explained — treat this as a precaution, not a known bug mechanic.)
• Cloud save requests are open. Players have asked for Steam Cloud / save management; as of this writing there's no developer commitment.

Quitting Mid-Shift

Progress is saved per completed shift, so quitting during a night risks only that night's progress — you'll redo the current shift, not the run. Save your big nights (9+, Blood Moons, Night 12–13) for sessions where you can finish them.

What Happens to Your Save After the Ending

This is the most-misunderstood part:

• Your story save is not automatically deleted after an ending.
• After finishing the 13 shifts, the save continues as "post story mode" — a low-stakes sandbox continuation with your fully-established character ("merely there if you really don't feel like restarting").
• Endless Mode is a fresh start, unlocked by achieving the True Ending (see Endless Mode guide).
• Want to replay Story from scratch? Start a new game manually — the system won't reset for you.

Quick Reference

FAQ

Where is the save file? Location isn't officially documented in the discussions; if you need it for backup, check the game's local app-data folder on your machine.

Can co-op friends continue my save? Friends join your hosted shifts; the progression belongs to the host's save.

Verified via developer update notes, Steam feature data (no Steam Cloud category) and community discussion threads. Post-story behavior reflects current community-reported experience.