Technical filing

Ship your game as a physical object.

Relic is an open format for taking a video game outside digital stores without giving up updates, DLC, and content control. This page explains how it works inside.

Flash architecture

Three partitions, three roles.

The memory in the statue's base is split into three independent spaces, each with its own write rules, encryption, and access policy.

CorePartition 01

The game files. Read-only, hardware write-protected. Always visible and copyable. Launcher encryption is optional; ownership never requires an account or a server. The user can archive, copy, or run the files without going through us.

read-onlyhw-protectedarchivable
FluxPartition 02

Hosts Ember, the embedded app. Autorun is optional, no installation needed. If the system already has Forge installed, Ember hands off and exits.

autorunzero-installportable
DriftPartition 03

DLC, patches, extra content. Writable only by authenticated apps. Every update is signed on the server and applied locally. The studio controls what lands on the chip.

signedwritableversioned
Ownership

Ownership without an asterisk.

You buy a Relic and it's yours. No terms to accept, no account, no server that can revoke your access. The game is on the device: take it, lend it, sell it.

Lose it, and you lose it. That's the trade-off, and it's intentional. It works like a book.

On the device

The game lives on the Relic. No database entry, no cloud account. It's physically with you.

Zero account

No signup, no login. The statue is your access token.

Offline-first

The game boots without a network. The network is only used for DLC and updates.

Preservation

Even without us, the files remain accessible to the user.

Distribution

Limited runs, curated, physical.

We produce in house: modelling, SLA printing, manual post-processing. Every piece is numbered. We're focused on indie studios who want an unconventional physical edition, sold as a collectible alongside the digital release.

We handle statue design, production, packaging, and software integration. The studio provides the game and defines the theme. Print runs and royalties are agreed title by title.

Technical requirements

What it takes to run inside a Relic.

The launcher handles boot and path routing. The game must be portable and self-contained: no trace left on the user's system.

PlatformBuild target

Windows is the current platform. The game must be fully portable: no installer, no writes to %APPDATA% or the Windows registry. Every file must live inside its own execution directory.

Linux and macOS support is in development.

windowslinux (coming)macos (coming)no-installerno-registry
IntegrationLauncher API

The launcher starts the game passing two environment variables: GAMEFIGURES_FLUX_PATH points to the Flux partition, GAMEFIGURES_DRIFT_PATH to the Drift partition. Save files must be written to Flux, not %APPDATA%, so they stay on the device alongside the game.

GAMEFIGURES_FLUX_PATHGAMEFIGURES_DRIFT_PATHsaves on chip
Required filesManifest

A manifest.json at the game root with title metadata: game_id, title, version, executable, cover_image, developer, and the drift_content list. Plus a standalone executable. Cover image is optional.

manifest.jsonstandalone executablecover optional

Offline-first

No internet connection required at launch. Network is only needed for optional updates and DLC.

SDK & game engines

TypeScript SDK available now. Native support for the major game engines (Unity, Godot, and Unreal Engine) coming soon.

Simple delivery

One archive with manifest.json, the executable, and an optional cover. No installer to configure, no proprietary packaging tool.

Let's talk

Want to see your game inside a Relic?

Write to us. We'll show you a prototype, the numbers, and how it would work with your title.

info@gamefigures.tech