Does starting a new game erase progress?

[yelime]

Keep in mind that I haven't completed 1 play through yet. I know that if you're in 1 save slot with a game in progress and then choose to start a new game, then that will erase all the progress. However, if I add a new save slot and try to start a new game, I get this warning message saying that starting a new game would overwrite progress. But in the new save slot, there's no games in progress so that's where I'm confused. Without completing a single play through, can I start a new game in a new save slot with a game in progress in another save slot?

[Molesworth.Houghton]

Try it out by yourself. Make a backup of your current savegame-folder and start a new game. So far i remember, the game will delete your actual saved checkpoint if you do this.