Persona 4 Golden illustrates why a save “slot” can be more than one file. Steam stores data under app ID 1113000, and documented cross-platform workflows pair each dataXXXX.bin with a companion .binslot structure whose checksum may need to agree. A backup of only the visibly largest file is therefore incomplete. SaveEditor recommends copying the whole remote directory first, then treating any conversion or editor workflow as a separate operation on duplicates. Microsoft Store is again represented by WGS and is not presented as drop-in compatible.
Known Persona 4 Golden save-file structure
The researched filename or folder pattern is Steam commonly uses dataXXXX.bin with corresponding dataXXXX.binslot metadata; cloud metadata also resides in the remote directory.. File-extension context: .bin, .binslot The documented format notes are: Steam stores the save set under app ID 1113000. Community-documented Vita/PC and edited-save workflows note a checksum relationship between dataXXXX.bin and dataXXXX.binslot. Microsoft Store uses WGS.
Why an extension is not enough
A save filename can identify a likely container, but it does not prove the internal schema, game version, checksum rules, encryption state, or editability. Edited or cross-platform slot data can fail if companion checksum metadata no longer matches. Avoid mixing a .bin from one snapshot with a .binslot from another. SaveEditor therefore separates file identification from Tool compatibility and only labels a game-specific Tool Verified when its exact profile/version evidence passes the runtime gate.
Where the format is stored
PC save locations: Windows: Steam: <Steam-folder>userdata<user-id>1113000remote ; Microsoft Store: %LOCALAPPDATA%PackagesSEGAofAmericaInc.D0cb6b3aet_s751p9cej88mtSystemAppDatawgs<user-id>. Storefront context: Steam, Microsoft Store. A .bin slot and its .binslot metadata should be treated as a pair. Microsoft Store WGS transfer is a separate conversion problem, not a simple rename. This matters because two releases can use different containers or companion files even when the visible slot name is similar.
Back up before inspecting or editing
Back up the entire 1113000remote directory before changing a slot. Preserve the matching .bin/.binslot files and cloud metadata together so the original pairing can be restored. A read-only viewer is lower risk than a writer, but the live save should still be copied first. Cloud context also matters: Steam Cloud and Xbox Cloud are documented. Keep the original bytes available so any experiment can be reversed without relying on a cloud service or automatic backup.
What this reference does not claim
This page does not infer an undocumented checksum algorithm, encryption key, compression layer, or cross-store conversion from the file extension. Troubleshooting evidence: If a slot warns or fails to load, restore the matching pair. When moving from Microsoft Store, verify the transfer workflow for the current game version instead of treating WGS blobs as Steam files. Those questions require a verified parser/profile or a game-specific source, not a generic format guess.
Verification context: Reviewed against current PCGamingWiki Persona 4 Golden save-location and Vita-transfer/checksum notes.