Update Infinite Fusion on Steam Deck without losing your save

What the creator guide establishes

The Steam Deck page is marked work in progress. It warns that its older video is no longer updated and that the video's downloads should not be used. Follow the current creator page for game files and release-specific directions.

Its update instructions describe either transferring a backed-up save to new files or replacing game files in the same location. They also describe correcting a shortcut target from the older executable name to InfiniteFusion.exe. An example Downloads path is not proof of your own installation location.

This page explains that documented update boundary. It is not a complete first-install guide or a verified result on a particular Steam Deck.

Record the working installation before changing it

1. Open the game through the existing Steam entry. Record recognizable progress and the installed version.
2. Locate your real game folder and readable save files using the creator instructions. Copy the saves to a separate backup folder.
3. Record the entry's current target and folder location. Keep the backup outside the directory you intend to replace.
4. Read the instructions for the update you are actually installing, including any save-conversion requirements.

If you cannot locate or copy a readable save yet, resolve that before replacing the installation. A remembered team or a screenshot helps verify progress later, but it is not a file backup.

Use the method for your release

Work from the creator's update instructions rather than combining steps from an old video, a generic Linux guide and a different release. Keep the original backup untouched while copying progress to the new installation.

If the documented method replaces files at the same path, verify the destination folder before doing it. A similarly named extracted directory can leave the old shortcut pointing at an older build. Preserve the existing Steam entry throughout this process.

If the target needs changing, open the entry's Properties and check the executable inside the actual new folder. Copying the example path blindly can point to a location that does not exist on your Deck.

Check launch and saving separately

1. Launch from the preserved Steam entry and inspect the version.
2. Use Continue and compare team, location and progress against the old installation.
3. Make a normal in-game save, close normally, then reopen through the same entry.
4. Verify the newly saved progress before removing any old game copy or backup.

If the title screen opens but Continue is absent, investigate the save location and imported files. If an old version opens, investigate the shortcut target. Changing both without checking makes the symptom harder to interpret.

This is separate from GBA and Android saving

Infinite Fusion is a standalone game. A RetroArch cartridge save or GBA state is not its progress file. The Retroid Android guide uses another runtime path; do not copy its save locations onto SteamOS.

Steam Deck overview · Standalone versus ROM-patch installation

Creator Steam Deck documentation checked 7 Oct 2026. No completed update, save migration or performance test was supplied by Pocket Deal Radar.

Choose the update route using your actual folder

Before choosing a method, distinguish the folder you play from, an extracted update folder and a backup folder. Similar names make mistakes easy: a new folder beside the old one does not prove that Steam has switched to it.

A useful preparation note contains the old game version, actual folder, Steam target, backup location and a recognizable progress checkpoint. Keep it alongside the backup. Do not treat a folder labelled “latest” as evidence of the installed version.

What to check when the update seems wrong

Check one layer at a time. Start with whether the preserved entry launches, then the version it launches, then Continue, and finally whether a new in-game save survives another launch. Each observation narrows the problem.

Example: you extract the update into a new folder, but the title screen still shows your old version. Changing save files would add another variable. First compare the Steam target with the new folder. Only after the intended build opens should you investigate missing progress.

If the creator's current directions do not explain your release transition, stop with both copies preserved and ask through its support route. Keep the exact versions, method and symptom available; “the update failed” leaves important distinctions unresolved.