My game has disappeared šŸ˜­

GDevelop general
1

I was working on my first game, a simple pixel art retro 2d game, I had already finished two levels and I was trying to learn how to export it, while I updated gdevelop5 and when I opened It again, my game has just disappearedā€¦ Sometimes I see and empty preview and the message that the game Is no longer available or Iā€™m not allowed to open It (!)ā€¦ I donā€™t know what happened, but I hope It can be restoredā€¦ Anyone went through a similar situation? What can I do?

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2

Hey!
I had this happen to me once before. If you wouldnā€™t mind answering a few questions, I will be able to help you out!

  1. Was your game stored in the cloud or on your device?
  2. What type of device do you run GDevelop on?
  3. (Optional) Could you send a photo of the error you are getting?

Thanks!
ā€“ Snowy

(By the way, welcome to the forum!)

3

Hi Snowy! Thank you for your answer! Iā€™ll try to send you all the information that I have:

  1. The game was at first saved in the cloud, then, when I was working on the second level, I saved it also in my computer (now I canā€™t find it neither in the cloud nor in my computer)
  2. My computer is a microsoft surface pro 7
  3. I tried to attach all the screenshots of the error to this message (1-when I open Gdevelop on my computer; 2-when I log-in; 3-when I try to open the empty preview of the game) but I canā€™t upload images because Iā€™m a new user (this is the first time that I use the forum, so here Iā€™m ā€œnewā€ even if I used gdevelop to work on my little project for several months)

Thank you in advance for any help you can give me! :slight_smile:

  • Luna
1 Like
4

Hey! Thanks for the info!
It seems like the reason your game might be bugging out is that the file isnā€™t on your computer anymore. If you saved it there more recently than the cloud, and you canā€™t find it, that might mean itā€™s gone. Just double checking, you saved it most recently on your device right?

As for the photos, those would be really helpful. You should be able to post 1 photo per reply, so just reply multiple times with 1 photo each. Or, you could upload the photos to a photo hosting site and give a link.

Edit: @Whentom 's reply is much better then mine :smile:

1 Like
5

This situation has happened to other GDevelop users, so you are not alone. When a project disappears after an update, it is usually related to autosave, cloud sync, or file path issues rather than the game being deleted permanently.

First, check the local project folder on your computer. GDevelop projects are saved as JSON files, and sometimes the software loses the reference after an update. Use the Open a project option instead of recent projects and browse to the folder manually.

Second, check autosave and backup folders. GDevelop often creates backup files with similar names. Try opening any older versions you find in the same directory.

Third, if you were using GDevelop Cloud, log in through the website and check your cloud projects. Sometimes permissions or sync errors cause the editor to show an empty preview or access warning.

Fourth, avoid opening the project directly from compressed folders or external drives. Move the project to a simple local directory and try again.

While sorting out recovery steps or waiting for support responses, many developers take short breaks by trying **best multiplayer browser games to play on platforms like https://onga.io/, which offer quick online sessions without setup.

If none of these steps work, contact GDevelop support and share logs and project details. In many cases, users have successfully restored projects from backups or cloud history.

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