Bazzite: The next generation of Linux gaming
Source: Hacker News
Play your favorite games
Bazzite is designed for Linux newcomers and enthusiasts alike 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.
Own games outside of Steam?
Lutris (Pre‑installed) and other launchers can run games from most stores and cleanly integrate them into Steam Gaming Mode, including:
- Xbox Game Pass (via Battle.net)
- EA App
- Epic Games Store
- GOG.com
- itch.io
- Rockstar Games Launcher
- Ubisoft Connect
- Your dad’s old CDs
- …and more!
Wondering if your favorite games are compatible? Check the community‑maintained compatibility lists.
On all your favorite devices
Bazzite works whether you prefer to game on a handheld, chill on the couch with a home‑theater PC, lug your laptop to a LAN party, surf the subway with a tablet, or work on a desktop – no judgment.
Take your game library anywhere
Your MicroSD card game library can be shared between multiple Bazzite installs, no matter which devices you’re using.
Upgrade & Rollback
Bazzite is image‑based, meaning that after every update the previous version of the operating system is retained on your machine. Should an update cause any issues, you can select the previous image at boot time.
- Images are retained in the repositories for ninety days and can be switched via the terminal.
- Example: If a Nvidia driver update breaks something you need, rebase to the last known good release and pin it as long as required.
Secure by default
- Enterprise‑class security with out‑of‑the‑box SELinux and Secure Boot support.
- Signed container images and LUKS disk encryption with optional automatic TPM unlocking.
- Modern app stores provide attestation, sandboxing, and the most officially verified applications of any Linux repository.
Work with your hardware, not for it
Bazzite focuses on hardware compatibility out of the box, with full support for accelerated video encoding/decoding, built‑in Nvidia drivers, additional HID drivers, and extensive udev rules.
Game Controllers
Out‑of‑the‑box support for Xbox, Wii, Switch, PS3, PS4, PS5, and numerous other controllers.
GPU Support
Nvidia drivers and the latest Mesa for AMD & Intel are pre‑installed, with performance‑oriented tweaks applied as needed.
Additional Drivers
Support for extra Wi‑Fi adapters, display standards like DisplayLink, and more.
Complete Handheld PC Support
Bazzite includes the Handheld Daemon, offering enhanced functionality for handhelds from manufacturers such as ASUS, Ayn, GPD, and Lenovo—accessible by double‑tapping the quick‑access menu button.
- Customize your handheld experience with in‑depth controller emulation (paddles, touchpad, rumble, face buttons, RGB lighting, etc.).
- Control all aspects of your hardware from a clean UI, including GPU frequency, TDP controls, and CPU scheduler settings.
Use your favorite desktop environment
KDE (Fedora Kinoite)
A highly customizable and modern UI built by the KDE community, featuring a bottom taskbar, start menu, widgets, and pre‑installed Valve themes and customizations.
GNOME (Fedora Silverblue)
A modern, touch‑optimized desktop from the GNOME Foundation with rounded corners and thoughtful design choices. Light customizations can be easily undone if desired.
Steam Gaming Mode
From handhelds to home‑theater PCs, Steam Gaming Mode provides a premier console‑like experience and can be extended with community‑developed plugins and themes via Decky Loader.
Waydroid
Bring Android apps and games to Bazzite, running side‑by‑side with other Linux applications. See the Waydroid setup guide for more information.