Steam users turn SSDs into PC game cartridges

A Steam user on Reddit has come up with a striking throwback for PC gaming: storing games on 2.5-inch SATA SSDs designed to work like physical game cartridges. Each drive includes printed key art, and the setup uses a script that can automatically navigate Steam to a game’s page. The user also said games can be set to auto-start from each drive.

The idea arrives as debate over game ownership intensifies. TechRadar ties it to backlash over Sony’s reported plan to end physical PlayStation game discs from January 2028, a move the outlet says has fueled wider concerns about preserving physical media and maintaining ownership.

On PC, though, physical distribution has already largely disappeared. Most modern desktop systems no longer ship with disc drives, and publishers rarely release boxed PC games. That leaves buyers dependent on digital storefronts, where access is tied to accounts, launchers, and platform rules.

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TechRadar argues the SSD-cartridge concept is imaginative but impractical at scale. The biggest obstacle is cost: while the Reddit user reportedly found used drives cheaply, SSDs remain too expensive for this to make sense as a mainstream publishing format, especially amid what the article describes as a RAM crisis and skyrocketing SSD prices.

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There is also a more basic limitation. On services like Steam and the Epic Games Store, users still need to be signed in and have the client installed, so the SSD itself does not provide true standalone ownership. GOG is a closer fit for the idea, TechRadar notes, because its games are DRM-free and do not require the launcher to run.

For now, SSD game cartridges look more like an enthusiast project than a product category. But the experiment taps into a real demand: PC players may be digital-first, yet many still want something they can actually hold — and keep.