The Sims 4 players on Windows PC may encounter frustrating “game failed to save” errors with various error codes like 0, 123, 401, 507, 510, 513, or 532. These errors prevent you from saving your game progress, potentially causing hours of gameplay to be lost. Let’s explore the causes and solutions for this common issue.
Several factors can trigger saving errors in The Sims 4:
- Overprotective antivirus software blocking game saves
- Corrupted game mods or custom content
- Broken or outdated game files
- Corrupted game cache
- Issues with the options.ini file containing game settings
Here are six effective methods to fix The Sims 4 game failed to save error:
1. Temporarily Disable Your Antivirus
Step 1: Turn off your antivirus software temporarily and try saving your game. If this resolves the issue, you’ll need to add The Sims 4 and its game launcher (Origin or Steam) to your antivirus exclusion list.
Step 2: Open Windows Security by searching for it in the Start menu.
Step 3: Navigate to Virus & threat protection > Manage settings > Exclusions > Add or remove exclusions.
Step 4: Click “Add an exclusion” > “File” and select The Sims 4 executable file. Repeat this process for your game launcher (Origin.exe or Steam.exe).
2. Remove or Relocate Mods
Step 1: Press Win+E to open File Explorer and navigate to Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 > Mods.
Step 2: Select all files in the Mods folder (use Ctrl+A), then either delete them or move them to a different location on your computer (use Ctrl+X to cut and Ctrl+V to paste elsewhere).
Step 3: Launch the game and check if you can now save without errors.
3. Verify and Repair Game Files
Corrupted game files can cause saving errors. Use your game launcher’s built-in repair tool to fix this:
For Origin:
Step 1: Open Origin and go to your Game Library.
Step 2: Right-click on The Sims 4 and select “Repair” from the context menu.
Step 3: Wait for the repair process to complete, then relaunch the game.
For Steam:
Step 1: Open Steam and go to your Library.
Step 2: Right-click on The Sims 4 and select Properties.
Step 3: In the Properties window, go to the “Installed Files” tab and click “Verify integrity of game files”.
Step 4: Allow Steam to verify and repair any corrupted files, then restart the game.
4. Clear Origin and The Sims 4 Cache Files
Step 1: Close Origin completely.
Step 2: Press Win+R, type %ProgramData%/Origin, and press Enter.
Step 3: Delete all files inside the LocalContent folder.
Step 4: Repeat the process for %AppData% and %LocalAppData%, deleting the Origin folder in each location.
Step 5: Navigate to Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 and delete the localthumbcache.package file.
Step 6: Relaunch Origin and The Sims 4 to see if the error is resolved.
5. Remove the options.ini File
Step 1: Open File Explorer and go to Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4.
Step 2: Locate the options.ini file and either delete it or move it to another location.
Step 3: Restart the game. A new options.ini file will be created with default settings.
6. Enable Online Access and Use “Save As”
Step 1: Launch The Sims 4 and go to Game Options.
Step 2: Navigate to the “Other” tab and check the box next to “Online Access”.
Step 3: Click “Apply Changes” to save the new settings.
Step 4: Return to your game and use the “Save As” option instead of the regular save function.
If you’re still experiencing issues after trying these methods, consider reaching out to EA Support or checking the official Sims 4 forums for additional troubleshooting steps.
With these solutions, you should be able to resolve most saving errors in The Sims 4. Remember to regularly back up your save files to prevent losing progress in case of future issues. Happy Simming!