Games: Steam Deck, SteamOS, and Dumping Windows for GNU/Linux

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Apr 07, 2026

• Make Use Of ☛ This Nvidia app completely transformed the way I use my Steam Deck

  This will sound like lunacy, but path tracing at high frames on a handheld PC is achievable. Honest! Alright, there’s an almighty caveat to that claim, yet if you have a fast fiber optic connection, taming the most graphically demanding games on a Steam Deck is entirely possible.

  Up until recently, I hadn’t touched my Steam Deck OLED in months. That wasn’t because I don’t love Valve’s handheld (I absolutely adore it). Instead, it was due to the fact the face buttons on my Deck suddenly stopped working one day. And no matter how many times I performed a hard reset on the palm-friendly, Linux-based PC, said inputs steadfastly refused to work.

  Happily, a recent SteamOS update has gotten my buttons playing nice again, and that’s made me refamiliarize with what I’d consider to be the essential app for Steam Deck owners. This cloud-based software is so compelling on strong Wi-Fi connections, I’ve barely touched my Nintendo Switch 2 since getting reacquainted with the OLED model of Valve’s fabulous handheld.

• XDA ☛ Immutable Linux sounded bulletproof until I tried to use it

  Linux is having its mainstream moment, pushed by mindshare from SteamOS, and the improvements to gaming on Linux that it brought. But the good thing about Linux is that you're not locked to any one version. Any of the components can be taken, reused, and recombined in new ways, leading to new options.

  While that's probably the best-known immutable distro, many others have sprung up, both for desktop and on parallel development paths to SteamOS. I wanted to check out a few other options, and while I love SteamOS, I feel there are reasons why immutable distros work in that ecosystem but not in others.

• XDA ☛ I used Bazzite instead of SteamOS on my gaming PC, and it does everything SteamOS can’t

  Valve deserves a ton of credit for making Linux gaming not just viable, but actually good. SteamOS was a huge part of that; Valve spent a ton of time proving that a Linux-based gaming OS could be polished, approachable, and provide a genuinely good experience. The Steam Deck was the perfect canvas to showcase it, and despite being a handheld first, the desktop mode meant that you could use it as a desktop computer if need be.

  This desktop mode doesn't actually give you all that functionality you'd want from a desktop PC, and when you factor in that user hardware still isn't fully supported, it's clear that SteamOS isn't a true replacement for Windows. Bazzite, an OS developed under the Universal Blue project, has caught on as one of the foremost choices for Linux gaming because of its great functionality out of the box, but one of its strengths is how usable it is as a normal PC.

• XDA ☛ I’m switching to Linux for gaming — here's why

  When most people set up their favorite games on a new PC, they use Windows, my past self included. It is the standard in PC gaming, after all. However, gaming on Linux has been steadily getting better, ultimately becoming a better choice for me than Windows in recent years. In the past, running games was a nightmare on Linux, but recently it's become much more enjoyable. Nowadays, Linux even supports most Windows-only titles — except for some major AAA hits — and retro consoles, and can, in some cases, play them faster than Windows.

• XDA ☛ Someone merged SteamOS with NixOS, and the result is the strangest Linux distro I’ve ever loved

  NixOS is one of my favorite Linux distros out there, and my second favorite is SteamOS, but both serve very different purposes. NixOS is popular among people who want an immutable OS, while SteamOS, as you know, is built for the Steam Deck. Someone decided these two could be merged, and when I first learned about it, I was genuinely surprised that anyone would even think of combining them.

  Jovian NixOS does exactly that. It is a community-driven Linux distribution that layers Valve’s SteamOS on top of the NixOS operating system. The goal is to give NixOS users a Steam Deck-like console experience, running Steam in a Wayland compositor with proper controller and firmware support, while still benefiting from the declarative nature of NixOS. I decided to give it a try, and to my surprise, it’s not as weird as it sounds.

• XDA ☛ You don’t need to wait for SteamOS to have a great couch PC - here's what to use instead

  SteamOS has become one of the most interesting gaming operating systems in years, mostly because it proves a Linux-based platform can feel polished, console-like, and genuinely easy to game on. On handhelds, Valve has already shown that formula works. The bigger question is whether that same experience can translate cleanly to a home theater PC sitting under a TV. SteamOS points in the right direction, but if you want a couch-friendly gaming PC today, the best option still depends on how much compromise you're willing to accept. If you plan on running games directly on the bare-metal, Bazzite, another Linux-based OS, is a legitimate choice for some configurations, but Windows 11 can be just as viable for the same use case.