To load a saved game in Red Dead Redemption 2, open the pause menu (Options on PlayStation, Menu on Xbox, Esc on PC), go to the Story tab, choose Load Game, and pick a slot from the list, either one of your manual saves or the autosave. Confirm, and the game reloads at that point. This works any time you are in Story Mode, including from the opening moments after you launch the game.
Below we cover the steps on each platform, how to tell older saves apart, the autosave prompt that confuses many players, how loading works between Story Mode and Red Dead Online, where PC save files live, and what to do with a save that will not load.
This guide covers Story Mode in Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4, Xbox One and PC (Steam, the Epic Games Store and the Rockstar Games Launcher). PS5 and Xbox Series X|S play those versions through backward compatibility, so loading works the same there. If you need to make a save first, our guide on how to save your game covers manual saves and autosaves.
How to Load a Save, Step by Step
| Step | PlayStation | Xbox | PC (keyboard) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open the pause menu | Options | Menu | Esc |
| Select the Story tab | Cross | A | Enter |
| Choose Load Game | Cross | A | Enter |
| Pick a slot and confirm | Cross | A | Enter |
When you start the game and choose Story Mode, player reports describe it resuming from your most recent save. To pick a different one, wait until you are in the world, then load it from the Story tab as above.
How to Tell Older Saves Apart
The Load Game list mixes your manual slots with the single autosave slot. There are 15 slots in total. Players on the Steam forums point out that manual saves can be hard to tell apart, because each one is titled after the last story mission you completed rather than a name you choose. Use the other details on each entry instead:
- The completion percentage, which climbs as you play.
- The date and time shown on each save.
To keep things simple, rotate through two or three manual slots and always overwrite the oldest one. That way the newest manual save is easy to spot, and you always have an older fallback.
The Autosave Prompt Explained
Many players see a prompt about the autosave right after loading and worry it will overwrite their manual saves. It will not. Per players on the Steam forums, the game asks once per session whether it may overwrite the single autosave slot, and your manual slots are never touched. Once you allow it, the autosave keeps updating for the rest of that session without asking again.
If the prompt annoys you, the same players say you can switch autosave off in the game’s settings. Just remember to make manual saves often if you do, because nothing else will catch your progress.
Loading puts you near where you saved. If you save while sitting in the tent of a wilderness camp, you load back in on that exact spot; otherwise you spawn in the general area. There is a handy side effect, too: if you get separated from your horse, saving and reloading brings it back near you, which can be quicker than whistling for it.
Loading in Story Mode Versus Red Dead Online
Story Mode and Red Dead Online keep completely separate progress. Story saves only load Story Mode, and Red Dead Online has no Load Game option at all: your Online character, money and progress live on Rockstar’s servers and save automatically as you play. The switch between the two runs through the pause menu’s Online tab, and players report that coming back to Story Mode picks up from your latest Story save.
Where PC Save Files Live
On PC, Story Mode saves live in your Documents folder:
Documents > Rockstar Games > Red Dead Redemption 2 > Profiles > (a folder named with a string of letters and numbers)
Inside, per players on the Steam forums, the files are named SRDR30001 to SRDR30015, with SRDR30015 being the autosave and the rest your manual slots. Each has a matching .bak backup copy. Copy the whole profile folder somewhere safe before you install mods (our best Red Dead Redemption 2 mods list repeats that advice), move to a new PC, or try any of the fixes below.
Cloud saves come from Rockstar, not Steam. Players on the Steam forums point out that the game does not use Steam Cloud; cloud sync is handled by the Rockstar Games Launcher, which asks whether to enable cloud saves for the game. On PlayStation and Xbox, backups go through the console’s own cloud save features.
Installing a downloaded save. Some players install completed-game saves shared online by copying the SRDR files into their profile folder. These are unofficial files, so back up your own profile folder first and only use saves from a source you trust.
What to Do With a Save That Will Not Load
If the game hangs on a loading screen, crashes on load, or a slot shows up empty, work through these in order. They come from player reports on the Steam forums and from Rockstar Support’s own troubleshooting:
- Load a different slot. If an older manual save loads, the problem is that one file, not your whole game. This is the best reason to keep several manual saves.
- Restore the backup on PC. Back up the whole profile folder first, then replace the broken SRDR file with a copy of its .bak file, renamed to match. Players on the Steam forums report mixed results: it brought some saves back, while others only recovered by restoring a full copy of the folder. If your restored files keep getting replaced, the same players suspect cloud sync is pulling the broken copy back down, so decline cloud saves in the launcher before you load.
- Keep the save folder out of OneDrive. Rockstar Support ties error code 0x1000012c to a Red Dead Redemption 2 save folder inside OneDrive that has fallen out of sync with its cloud copy. If your Documents folder syncs to OneDrive, let it finish syncing, or keep the Rockstar Games folder out of it.
- Reset cloud sync. Players report that deleting the cloudsavedata.dat file in the profile folder makes the launcher ask about cloud saves again on the next start, which can fix a sync that keeps pulling an old or broken save.
- On console, restore from the cloud. If you have PlayStation Plus cloud storage or Xbox cloud saves, an older backup may still be there.
If none of that helps, start a fresh save and keep two or three manual slots going from then on. Our breakdown of how long each chapter takes helps you judge how much ground you have to make up, and the Red Dead guides hub has the rest of our coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you load a save in RDR2? Open the pause menu, go to the Story tab, choose Load Game and pick a slot. You can load a manual save or the autosave.
How do you load an older save in RDR2? Choose Load Game from the Story tab and pick the slot with the older date and lower completion percentage. Manual saves are titled after the last mission you completed, so use the date to tell them apart.
Does loading a save overwrite my other saves? No. Loading never overwrites anything. The only slot the game updates on its own is the single autosave, and it asks permission once per session first.
Where are RDR2 save files on PC? In Documents > Rockstar Games > Red Dead Redemption 2 > Profiles, inside a folder named with letters and numbers. Players report the autosave is the SRDR30015 file.
Can you load a Story Mode save in Red Dead Online? No. The two modes keep separate progress, and Red Dead Online saves to Rockstar’s servers automatically with no load option.