Direct answer: According to official Patch 1.0.6, How to Fish saves when you use Save, Main Menu, or Quit, and it autosaves every minute. The same official note says the application does not save at the moment it crashes.
Version boundary: Reviewed through the latest visible official Patch 1.0.8 on 2026-08-24. The save behavior itself comes from official Patch 1.0.6.
Official save behavior
| Event | Officially documented result | Caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Select Save | Saves the game | The note does not describe file paths, slots, or a visible completion indicator |
| Return to Main Menu | Saves the game | Do not infer host/client ownership in co-op |
| Quit | Saves the game | The approved source does not define forced-close behavior |
| Remain in the game | Autosaves every minute | This does not guarantee recovery to an exact second |
| Application crash | Does not save at the moment of the crash | Progress since the last completed save or autosave may be at risk |
The behavior is documented in the official Steam news feed. The Steam appdetails response also lists Save Anytime as a product feature.
Safer ways to leave a session
- Use the explicit Save action before changing a lobby, testing a workaround, or ending a long session.
- Prefer the in-game Main Menu or Quit actions over force-closing the application.
- In co-op, note who is hosting and what objective is active before recreating the room. The approved sources do not establish whether every client's progression is owned or written in the same way.
- After a crash, assume only that the game did not save at the crash moment. Check the loaded state before repeating, selling, or discarding important quest items.
These steps reduce avoidable uncertainty but are not a corruption-recovery guarantee.
What changed in Patch 1.0.6?
Besides documenting manual saves and the one-minute autosave, Patch 1.0.6 added save validation before loading. The official note connects that validation with avoiding fake “Game Name” server entries. If you still see stale or fake-looking rooms, record your version and exact symptom instead of assuming that deleting local files is safe.
Unknown save details
The approved dossier does not establish:
- the save-file path;
- Steam Cloud support or synchronization rules;
- the number or behavior of save slots;
- host versus client save ownership;
- a supported manual backup or restore procedure;
- recovery steps for a corrupted save;
- whether a force-quit, power loss, or operating-system crash behaves identically.
Because those details are unknown, this guide does not tell you to edit, replace, or delete save files. For join failures or stale rooms, preserve your current data and use the co-op troubleshooting guide first.