Can You Transfer Demo Save Files to Full Game in Digimon Story Time Stranger?

You can transfer demo save files to the full game in Digimon Story Time Stranger, but only under specific conditions that catch a lot of players off guard. The transfer works exclusively with manual saves, only between copies on the same platform, and it overwrites any existing full-game save the moment you confirm it. Here is exactly how the process works, plus the manual fixes for when the automatic prompt refuses to appear.

Can You Transfer Your Demo Save?

Yes, with three conditions confirmed by Bandai Namco:

• Manual saves only. Autosave data cannot be transferred to the full version under any circumstances. If you only ever relied on the demo’s autosave, that progress is not recoverable in the full game. Always make at least one manual save before closing the demo.
• Same platform only. Save data transfers only between copies of the game on the same platform. A Steam demo save moves to the Steam full game, a PS5 demo save to the PS5 full game. You cannot move a console demo save to PC or vice versa.
• Update first. Launch the full game and apply the latest update before attempting the transfer. If you start the full version without updating, the demo data can still be transferred after you update, but any full-version save that exists at that point gets overwritten by the demo data.

That overwrite rule cuts both ways: transferring your demo save replaces any existing full-game saves. If you have already started the full game and want to keep that progress, do not confirm the transfer.

How the Automatic Transfer Works

For most players, the process is a single prompt:

1. Make sure you have a manual save in the demo before uninstalling anything
2. Launch the full game after updating it to the latest version
3. A confirmation screen appears asking whether to import the demo save
4. Select Yes to transfer
5. Choose Continue from the title screen to pick up exactly where you left off

If the prompt appears and the transfer completes, you are done. The rest of this guide covers what to do when it does not.

What Does Not Transfer

Two things never carry over regardless of method:

• Autosave data. Confirmed directly by Bandai Namco. Only manual saves transfer. If your last Digivolutions or team changes happened after your last manual save, you will need to redo them.
• Central Town Adventure Trial data. Completing the demo unlocks the Adventure Trial mode for exploring parts of the Digital World. Progress made in that mode stays in the demo and cannot be moved to the full version.

Fix 1: The Settings-Change Trick

If the transfer prompt never appears, or the full game shows a corrupted save error, try this before touching any files:

1. Launch the demo again
2. From the title screen, change any option setting, such as graphics or sound
3. Save the settings
4. Close the demo and launch the full game
5. Attempt the transfer again

Changing and saving a setting forces the demo to rewrite its save data in a state the full game can detect. This resolves the issue for many players without any file management.

Fix 2: Manual File Copy on Steam

If the settings trick fails, you can move the files yourself on PC. This method is Steam only, since consoles do not expose save folders.

1. Open Steam, right-click Digimon Story Time Stranger Demo, select Manage, then Browse local files
2. Navigate to gamedata, then savedata, and copy every file inside
3. Back in Steam, right-click the full game, select Manage, then Browse local files
4. Navigate to the full game’s gamedata, then savedata folder
5. Back up any existing files there to a separate folder, then delete them from savedata
6. Paste the demo files in
7. Launch the full game and load the save from Continue

Two tips from players who have done this successfully: launch the full game once before pasting so all folders are generated, and temporarily disable Steam Cloud for the full game before copying so the cloud does not restore the old files over your pasted ones. Re-enable Steam Cloud and make a fresh save once the transfer works.

Fix 3: The Steam Userdata Folder

If your saves are not in the install folder, they may be in Steam’s userdata directory instead. The paths use each version’s Steam App ID:

• Full game: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata[YOUR STEAM ID]\1984270
• Demo: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata[YOUR STEAM ID]\3815860

Copy everything from the demo’s numeric folder (3815860) into the full game’s folder (1984270), then restart Steam and launch the game. A full system restart helps in cases where the game does not immediately detect the new files.

If You Deleted the Demo

Reinstalling the demo does not automatically re-download your saves. Steam only pulls cloud saves down when a save is loaded, and a completed demo boots straight to its ending video without loading anything.

To recover the files, download your demo saves manually from Steam Cloud through your Steam account’s remote storage page, then place them into the full game’s savedata folder using the steps in Fix 2. Only manual saves stored in the cloud can be recovered this way.

The transfer system works reliably once you know its three rules: manual saves only, same platform only, and the demo data overwrites whatever is already in the full game. Make a manual save before leaving the demo, update the full game before first launch, and the prompt handles the rest. If it does not, the settings trick and the two file-copy methods above cover every reported failure case.