This SteamOS clone is the best Linux distro for gamers

When I attended my first Linux convention, a company named Loki Games had a booth that was rather popular. Linux users flocked to the booth to see if a company could bring to the operating system one thing it was sorely missing: Games.

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Loki Games had already delivered several titles by porting them from Windows to Linux. I played several of those games (I still have a few, I believe) and found them to be very well done. The problem wasn’t the company’s ability but the users’ willingness to pay for their products. In the end, Linux users didn’t want to buy software. They had become so accustomed to getting all of their software for free that the idea of shelling out hard-earned cash was shocking. 

Loki Games failed. After that, gaming on Linux stumbled and stuttered. Sure, there was Wine, and with some effort, you could get games to play. I remember the first time I was able to play Diablo on Linux — what a thrill and, back then, an accomplishment.

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Today, there’s Steam, which makes gaming on Linux exponentially easier. Steam also makes a large number of games available for Linux. Some Linux distributions have also taken it upon themselves to make gaming as easy as possible for users, such as Bazzite.

What is Bazzite?

Bazzite is a Linux distribution specifically designed for newcomers and enthusiasts. According to the official website, Bazzite ships with “Steam pre-installed, HDR & VRR support, improved CPU schedulers for responsive gameplay, and numerous community-developed tools and tweaks to streamline your gaming and streaming experience.”

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SteamOS clone

The reality is actually a bit more exciting than that, because Bazzite is a SteamOS clone. SteamOS is the operating system that powers the Steam Deck and is, hands down, the best Linux distribution for gaming. But there’s a catch: To date, Valve has yet to release an official version of SteamOS that can be used by those who prefer to game on their PCs. 

To remedy that, Bazzite was created as a clone of SteamOS, and right out of the box, you get gaming support baked in by default.

Bazzite is not a 1:1 clone of SteamOS 3, but the functionality is the same. You get a KDE Plasma desktop decorated with Valve’s KDE themes (from SteamOS), the same wallpapers, icons, and more. If you’ve used SteamOS, Bazzite might fool you into thinking you’re using something official.

Built around Fedora

Under the hood, Bazzite is built around Fedora (whereas SteamOS is based on Arch). In this custom build, you get improved hardware support (over SteamOS), proprietary driver support for GeForce GPUs, System76’s CPU scheduler for optimized performance, Waydroid (an Android emulator), DisplayLinux support, atomic upgrades, LUKS full-disk encryption, game controller support, a handheld daemon (for enhanced functionality and support for handhelds), and more.

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In other words, Bazzite is designed from the ground up for gaming, and until Valve releases an official version of SteamOS, Bazzite is, hands down, the best Linux distribution for gaming.

My first impressions of Bazzite

After I finished the installation (which is incredibly simple but takes a bit longer than the average Linux distribution), the first thing I was greeted with was an onboarding app that allowed me to pick what other services and apps I wanted to install. You can enable or disable any of these and click Install.

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Next came the Steam login. Once I logged in, I could open the Steam Store and pick from any number of games to play. With just a few quick clicks, I was enjoying games that played seamlessly. I’ve tested plenty of Linux distributions that claimed to be geared for gaming, but Bazzite is heads above the competition.

And this was with Bazzite running as a virtual machine.

Simple and fun

Beyond fragging enemies, Bazzite also offers a wonderful take on the KDE Plasma desktop environment, thanks to the SteamOS theme. You get tasteful transparency and the usual array of customizations that accompany KDE Plasma.

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Above all, the best thing about Bazzite is simply that it makes gaming on Linux both simple and fun. In roughly 10 minutes — from the start of the OS installation to downloading a Steam game — you can be happily gaming on Linux, and no other distribution makes it so easy.

Should you try Bazzite?

If you want to game on Linux, Bazzite should be the first distribution you use. If you’re not a gamer, you could still use Bazzite, but you wouldn’t be getting the most out of the OS.

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As for me? I’m just a casual gamer and tend to only play on my Nintendo Switch. However, with the curious issues surrounding the Switch 2 (from increasing prices to the lack of a new Zelda game), I could see myself switching over to Steam by way of either a Steam Deck or using Bazzite. Either way, this distribution is the single best route to gaming on Linux.

If you’re interested in trying Bazzite, you can download an ISO from the official site.

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