I have the tab to Bazzite open for weeks now but I'm still stalling it.
this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2025
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Well... Start INstalling it ๐
Hey that's me! I'm one of those 5k new installs!
I ran a mix of Xubuntu and Linux Mint full time for a few years but switched back to Windows just a few weeks before Valve started releasing the crazy updates to proton in the lead up to the Steam Deck launch. I have one laptop which still has the same Linux Mint install that I did a few years ago too! But I ultimately switched back because a couple of games I enjoy were either a royal pain on Linux or did not work at all, plus I'd tinkered with my installs to death so they all had some wild issues that I never could pin down.
Decided with the Windows 10 EOL date that I'd try out Bazzite and see if I liked it, and honestly I expected to have found a blocker by now but everything I keep trying keeps working flawlessly, and I even got a couple of 25 year old games that don't even work on Windows working flawlessly on Linux with just a couple of toggle switches in Proton
Is this distro is the one that is great for gamers? I can see it becoming very popular .
It's gamer-friendly in the sense that it comes with all you need for gaming by default. You can game on any major distro without problems.
Personally I'm not a fan of bazzite because of its "immutable" approach but that's a personal preference.
I was put off by the immutability too, as a long-time Linux user, but it turns out it doesn't really make much of a difference. You just install things slightly differently, the biggest drawback so far are the interoperability issues with flatpaks, 'cause, you know, sandbox and all, but it's really minor tbh.
On the other hand it's very polished and convenient for most things, so much it converted me after an eternity on Fedora.
Iโm one of the 30k and as a game dev, I decided to push an agenda at my workplace to give better support to Linux, or at least consider proper Proton quality check.
SteamOS for Desktop is imminent and Iโm sure even more gamers will consider giving it a shot considering how shit Win11 is and how easy to spin it up with just a flash drive (that was my experience with Bazzite anyway).
SteamOS for Desktop is imminent
Do you have some source? I recall the latest rumor related to a valve patent is more likely to be about some VR thing than a steamOS PC
https://store.steampowered.com/steamos
Does this mean I can install SteamOS on any device? We expect most SteamOS users to get SteamOS preinstalled on a Steam Deck or device that incorporates SteamOS. The only devices officially supported on SteamOS right now are Steam Deck and Legion Go S. We are working on broadening support, and with the recent updates to Steam and SteamOS, compatibility with other AMD powered PC handhelds has been improved.
If you are interested in installing SteamOS on your device and providing feedback, you can follow the instructions here.
here links to https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/65B4-2AA3-5F37-4227
With instructions to install steamos and the note:
Currently, the only devices officially 'Powered by SteamOS' are Steam Deck and Legion Go S. We are working on broadening support, and with the recent updates to Steam and SteamOS 3.7, compatibility with other AMD powered PC handhelds has been improved.
So, it's unlikely to be smooth sailing. But it can be done, and steam is working on improving it.
There seems to be some forks out there that claim to improve desktop installation, but I have no idea how active or decent they are.
Personally, I think steam is missing a huge market slice by not creating a steamos for desktops.
However, they don't need it and probably don't want it. It's a market slice in a market they don't need or want: operating systems.
People that would use it likely already have steam on windows. So, it's not bringing in new customers (like the steam deck does).
People that game on Linux likely already use Steam Proton (which is an amazing contribution). So, no new customers by distributing a whole desktop OS.
It's starting a fight with Microsoft (which I think we all want), but with no real benefit to Steam.
I think steam is smart to stay in their lane of handheld OS and Linux tooling for gaming.
Let the desktop gaming distros be maintained by other people. Ideally steam would support those distros, but just maintaining Proton and generally pushing Linux gaming is still a huge contribution.