GDevelop provides two main ways to save game data:

1. Storage Actions (Local Storage) — Persistent Between Sessions

This is the most common way to save progress. Data is stored on the user’s device (browser, desktop, mobile).

What you can save

• Player position
• Inventory
• Level progression
• Settings (sound, graphics)
• Anything that fits into variables

How to Save Data

Use the action:
📌 Storage → Write a value to storage

Example: Save current level

Write GlobalVariable(CurrentLevel) 
in storage "SaveData" 
at key "level"

How to Load Data

Use the action:
📌 Storage → Read a value from storage

Example: Load saved level into a variable

Read value from key "level" in storage "SaveData"
and store it in GlobalVariable(CurrentLevel)

Important:
After reading, you must check if the value exists.

2. JSON Save/Load (Useful for large data or structured saves)

You can serialize (convert) variables into JSON and save them as text.

Saving

Do = ToJSONStructure(GlobalVariable(PlayerData)) to GlobalVariable(SaveJSON)
Write GlobalVariable(SaveJSON) in storage "SaveData" at key "PlayerData"

Loading

Read "PlayerData" from storage "SaveData" into GlobalVariable(TempJSON)
Deserialize JSON string GlobalVariable(TempJSON) into GlobalVariable(PlayerData)

⭐ Recommended Variable Structure for Saves

Global Structure

PlayerData
    Level = 2
    Health = 90
    Coins = 350
    Inventory
        Sword = true
        Shield = false
        PotionCount = 3

⭐ Auto-Save Example (common in platformers/RPGs)

Event

Condition:
   Player collides with SavePoint

Actions:
   Write GlobalVariable(PlayerData) to storage "SaveData" at key "PlayerData"
   Play sound "save.wav"

⭐ Loading Game Example (on start of scene)

Event

At the beginning of the scene:

Read "PlayerData" from storage "SaveData" into GlobalVariable(Temp)
If GlobalVariable(Temp) != "" :
    Deserialize JSON to GlobalVariable(PlayerData)
    Create player at PlayerData.X ; PlayerData.Y
    Set coins to PlayerData.Coins

🔥 Bonus: Autosave vs Manual Save

Manual Save Trigger

Player presses a button (“Save Game”):

When key S is pressed:
   Write save data...

Autosave Trigger

Every 10 seconds:
   Write save data...

⭐  Full Example File?

✅ A complete GDevelop save/load event sheet
✅ Example with structured variables
✅ A minimal project template you can paste into GDevelop

Below is a ready-to-use GDevelop example project (JSON) containing:

✅ Global variables with structured save data
✅ Save + Load events
✅ Simple player object with position saving
✅ Works in GDevelop 5+ (copy → paste into a new project’s game.json)

📦 GDevelop Example Save/Load System (game.json snippet)

👉 How to use:

1. Create a new empty project in GDevelop
2. Open the game.json (right-click project → edit as JSON)
3. Replace the file with the version below OR merge the parts you need
4. Save & reopen GDevelop

📁 Complete Example File

{
  "firstLayout": "Level1",
  "properties": {
    "windowWidth": 1280,
    "windowHeight": 720,
    "adaptGameResolutionAtRuntime": true
  },
  "objects": [
    {
      "name": "Player",
      "type": "Sprite",
      "animations": [
        {
          "name": "idle",
          "direction": 0,
          "spriteSize": { "width": 32, "height": 32 },
          "images": [ "player.png" ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "layouts": [
    {
      "name": "Level1",
      "objectsInstances": [
        {
          "name": "Player",
          "x": 100,
          "y": 100
        }
      ],
      "events": [
        {
          "type": "BuiltinCommonInstructions::Standard",
          "conditions": [
            { "type": "BuiltinCommonInstructions::AtTheBeginning" }
          ],
          "actions": [
            {
              "type": "Storage::ReadStringFromJSON",
              "parameters": [ "SaveData", "SaveJSON", "TempSave" ]
            },
            {
              "type": "CommonInstructions::JsCode",
              "parameters": [
                "if (runtimeScene.getVariables().get(\"TempSave\").getAsString() !== \"\") {\n" +
                "  const json = runtimeScene.getVariables().get(\"TempSave\").getAsString();\n" +
                "  runtimeScene.getVariables().get(\"SaveStruct\").fromJSON(json);\n" +
                "  const p = runtimeScene.getInstancesOf(\"Player\")[0];\n" +
                "  p.setX(runtimeScene.getVariables().get(\"SaveStruct\").getChild(\"PlayerX\").getAsNumber());\n" +
                "  p.setY(runtimeScene.getVariables().get(\"SaveStruct\").getChild(\"PlayerY\").getAsNumber());\n" +
                "}"
              ]
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "type": "BuiltinCommonInstructions::Standard",
          "conditions": [
            {
              "type": "BuiltinCommonInstructions::KeyPressed",
              "parameters": [ "S" ]
            }
          ],
          "actions": [
            {
              "type": "CommonInstructions::JsCode",
              "parameters": [
                "const p = runtimeScene.getInstancesOf(\"Player\")[0];\n" +
                "const saveVar = runtimeScene.getVariables().get(\"SaveStruct\");\n" +
                "saveVar.getChild(\"PlayerX\").setNumber(p.getX());\n" +
                "saveVar.getChild(\"PlayerY\").setNumber(p.getY());\n" +
                "runtimeScene.getVariables().get(\"SaveJSON\").setString(saveVar.toJSON());"
              ]
            },
            {
              "type": "Storage::WriteJSONToString",
              "parameters": [ "SaveData", "SaveJSON", "SaveJSON" ]
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "variables": [
    {
      "name": "SaveStruct",
      "type": "structure",
      "value": {
        "PlayerX": 100,
        "PlayerY": 100
      }
    },
    { "name": "SaveJSON", "type": "string", "value": "" },
    { "name": "TempSave", "type": "string", "value": "" }
  ]
}

🧾 Features in this example

✔ Loads player position at scene start

If save exists → load X/Y from storage.

✔ Press S to save

Saves:

• PlayerX
• PlayerY

✔ Uses a structured global variable SaveStruct

✔ JSON-safe & compatible with export builds

🎁 Want a more complete file?

I can generate:

🔧 Version with:

• Multiple scenes
• Inventory saving
• Level progression
• Autosave
• Save slots
• Cloud sync (Firebase)

Email at contact@tastycherrygames.com