Overview
- A Reddit user known as Jibril-sama placed games on 128GB 2.5‑inch SATA SSDs, fitted them with 3D‑printed shells and artwork, and showed that plugging a drive into a SATA dock can trigger a script to open or launch its Steam game.
- The setup runs on Linux and uses a udev rule and a systemd service to detect the drive and run a script that calls Valve’s Steam URL protocol to navigate to a title or start it automatically.
- The creator said the drives were second‑hand and bought for about €7 each, which helped make the build cheap for one person but would be costly to scale given higher current SSD prices.
- Reporters and experts warn the system does not change ownership or DRM: Steam must be installed and the game must be in the user’s library, while frequent multi‑gigabyte updates and flash data‑retention on unpowered SSDs create practical fragility.
- The project has drawn strong nostalgic interest online and sparked discussion about physical media as Sony phases out discs and services like GOG offer DRM‑free alternatives, but there is no sign publishers are adopting the idea.