| Introduction | Are you interested in a distribution specifically tailored for Linux games? If the answer is yes, then we have a great option for you. |
Bazzite is a newly launched distribution based on Fedora, which is customized for games on the Linux desktop and the increasingly popular Steam Deck .
In this article, we will provide a brief summary of Bazzite and discuss its advantages.
Bazzite: Overview
Bazzite is based on the latest release of Fedora 38, using Universal Blue - an OCI base image of Fedora. It provides extended hardware support, such as Microsoft Surface devices , and comes with key drivers pre-installed.
Builds based on Fedora 39 are also available for testing. You can keep an eye out for the stable version to be released at the end of next month.
Some of its highlights include:
- Pre-installed proprietary NVIDIA drivers
- Supports hardware accelerated H264 decoding
- Introduced Waydroid, allowing running Android apps
- Xbox controller support thanks to implementation of xone, xpadneo and xpad-noone
Initial impressions
I tried Bazzite on a virtual machine and found that its installation experience was extremely close to Fedora. But after installing it, you will find its uniqueness.
Bazzite uses the KDE Plasma 5.27 desktop environment by default and incorporates a neat Steam Deck style into the entire operating system .
It also offers standalone ISOs for PC and Steam Deck , including a version for NVIDIA, and a GNOME version if you don't like KDE .
When setting up the distro for use with games, I used the "Bazzite Portal" app, which walked me through some important configuration steps. You can also install Open Razer here if you want.
First, it sets up Bazzite Arch, which is a custom Arch Linux OCI that runs in Distrobox and supports Steam, Lutris, etc. to run games within it.
After configuring some additional options, the installation of the application begins, presenting many of the most popular applications covering specific use cases in various categories.
Once set up, you'll have an operating system designed specifically for gaming
Lutris and Steam running on Bazzite
Recently, through an update, Bazzite added two new pre-installed apps:
- Mission Control (system monitor application)
- Discover Overlay (an application for Discord overlay)
Bazzite GNOME version with system monitor app
There are some other configuration options here that I skipped.
Bazzite can take advantage of the Nix package manager , launch Steam in large-screen mode at startup, provide memory adjustment options, and more.
The concept sounds interesting, and if you've been looking for a Fedora-based, game-optimized distribution like Nobara, you might want to give Bazzite a try.
Download Bazzite
If you are interested in what Bazzite has to offer, you can download the latest version in its GitHub repository.
Bazzite（GitHub）