Jumping into Monster Hunter World immediately after posting: Some people at Iceborne found that their save files had disappeared.
Monster Hunter World: Icefield Released on PC last night. Although the release process has been smooth so far, some players have encountered a major problem.
After starting the game, Monster Hunter World will check the saved files. When this happens, some players receive an error message telling them that "compatible saves cannot be found." If you continue, the game will create a new save file and immediately delete the old file.
If you have cloud saves enabled for Monster Hunter World, the new save will replace the existing saves in the cloud when you exit the game. This caught many by surprise and it was not clear what the cause was.
Some people think this has to do with mods, many of which are outdated at this point. Others think that if you haven't played Monster Hunter World in a while, this error will happen, which means that you missed the saved data format changes made after publishing.
Given that the game cannot read the old format, it is recommended to start over, which is obviously not ideal.
This problem is already common, and there are many posts on the Steam Forum, Resetera, and Reddit, which frustrates all people who have lost their game time.
If the game hasn't been launched since Iceborne's release, you may need to save your files locally, just in case. Monster Hunter World usually stores these files under Steam User data (your Steam user ID number) 582010. You should also back up everything in the savedata_backup folder in the game directory.
If a safe transfer is required, it is helpful to keep the original saved copy.
If all goes well, you may want to learn about the new mechanics and systems in Iceborne, such as "clutch claws", "predator rides" and new weapon boosters.
