This PC Gamer Is Making His Own Physical Steam Games, One Expensive Cartridge At A Time
Overview & Key Takeaways
Physical PC games have been out of fashion for many years, thanks to the rise of digital distribution platforms like Steam. While big PC game boxes containing CD and DVD-ROMs have essentially died out, one modder has decided to bring back game cartridges to their Steam library, blending solid-state drives with Steam's flexible desktop client.
Over on the PC Master Gaming Race subreddit, Jibril-sama detailed their plug-and-play approach to playing Steam games. They'd recently purchased a stack of used SATA SSDs, loaded a custom script on them, installed games onto each one, and created custom graphics to stick to the cases. Once done, a custom Steam Game Cartridge was born, with some of Jibril-sama's games being Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Horizon 5, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2--all games with a chunky install size.
If you're interested in making your own cartridges, Jibril-Sama has uploaded the code online for modders to check out. According to their post, the code "should" work with other storage mediums like SD cards, USB drives, and flash drives. "No guarantee that it's going to work for you. I only tested on my old Win10 install, but you should at least be able to take the general code and make it work or improve it," they wrote.
Going with the SSD method is obviously the pricier option, as on average, you're looking at around $30-$50 for a quality 128GB SSD. Once the games start piling up, so too does the price.
Memory prices have surged in recent months due to rampant investment in AI data centers and various global factors, making what was once an affordable upgrade more expensive than ever. The future is also looking increasingly digital for next-gen video game consoles, as Sony has confirmed that it will stop manufacturing PlayStation discs in 2028. Microsoft's next-gen console, Project Helix, is also rumored to be a digital-only console.
Physical PC games have been out of fashion for many years, thanks to the rise of digital distribution platforms like Steam. While big PC game boxes containing CD and DVD-ROMs have essentially died out, one modder has decided to bring back game cartridges to their Steam library, blending solid-state drives with Steam’s flexible desktop client.
Over on the PC Master Gaming Race subreddit, Jibril-sama detailed their plug-and-play approach to playing Steam games. They’d recently purchased a stack of used SATA SSDs, loaded a custom script on them, installed games onto each one, and created custom graphics to stick to the cases. Once done, a custom Steam Game Cartridge was born, with some of Jibril-sama’s games being Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Horizon 5, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2–all games with a chunky install size.
If you’re interested in making your own cartridges, Jibril-Sama has uploaded the code online for modders to check out. According to their post, the code “should” work with other storage mediums like SD cards, USB drives, and flash drives. “No guarantee that it’s going to work for you. I only tested on my old Win10 install, but you should at least be able to take the general code and make it work or improve it,” they wrote.
Going with the SSD method is obviously the pricier option, as on average, you’re looking at around $30-$50 for a quality 128GB SSD. Once the games start piling up, so too does the price.
Memory prices have surged in recent months due to rampant investment in AI data centers and various global factors, making what was once an affordable upgrade more expensive than ever. The future is also looking increasingly digital for next-gen video game consoles, as Sony has confirmed that it will stop manufacturing PlayStation discs in 2028. Microsoft’s next-gen console, Project Helix, is also rumored to be a digital-only console.
