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Comparison of Bazzite and SteamOS

What is SteamOS?

SteamOS is an operating system originally designed for the Steam Deck. SteamOS is an OS for the Steam client and also features a basic desktop environment with KDE Plasma that allows users to e.g., install mods and emulators, but may be limited for desktop use.

What is Bazzite?

Bazzite is a community-driven Linux gaming operating system, featuring the latest Linux drivers and a variety of flavors (Desktop (Bazzite), Handheld/HTPC (Bazzite-Deck), and Developer eXperience (Bazzite-DX)). It is based on Fedora Linux and features an atomic update system, ensuring the previous update is always available if something goes wrong.

It is also designed for daily driving, with a focus on gaming, multi-media, and development. In addition, since Bazzite ships the latest drivers, you can be sure that if your device can work on Linux, then it will work in Bazzite. Bazzite has support for AMD, recent Nvidia and Intel GPUs. Bazzite also works well for Lenovo, Asus, Ayn, GPD, and OneXPlayer handheld devices.

Extra Enhancements on Bazzite Compared to SteamOS

  • Excellent dual-boot support with Windows.
  • Works on most x86-based handhelds: Lenovo Legion Go/S, ASUS ROG Ally/X, OneXPlayer F1/G1/X1 variants, GPD Win 4/Mini/Max, Ayn Loki, MSI Claw 1st Gen AI7+/8+, Zotac Zone, Ayaneo Air/Geek/Next, Steam Deck LCD/OLED.
  • Support for tuning desktop GPUs and fans.
  • Fearless Updates
    • You always have access to the previous version through the bootloader.
    • For handhelds, Bazzite will automatically rollback on the previous version after 3 failed boots.
    • A backlog of the previous 90 days of updates is available, and you can easily roll back to any version with a simple command or through Handheld Daemon.
  • Ships the newest software available including the Linux kernel, graphics drivers, and Gamescope.
  • Useful gaming-related software, such as Lutris, Umu-Launcher, ProtonUp-QT, Protontricks, and more.
  • Access to the GNOME desktop environment as an alternative to KDE Plasma.
  • Out of the box support for virtualization and GPU passthrough.
  • Android applications can be installed with Waydroid.
  • Sunshine is pre-installed, allowing you to easily stream your games.
  • Bazzite Portal includes ujust convenience scripts for setting up software and tweaks such as secure boot, and additional software.
  • Uses the disk format BTRFS with deduplication and compression (SteamOS uses Ext4) and supports auto-mounting for both internal drives and SD cards.

Daily Driving

  • System packages are updated frequently.
  • Wayland is used in desktop mode, ensuring correct scaling for high-DPI displays.
  • Most desktop packages follow the Fedora lifecycle, with exceptions where there is a bug, where the package is selectively withheld or fixed earlier than Fedora.

For Developers

  • Access to multiple package managers and repositories in containers using Distrobox.
  • Homebrew is pre-installed for command-line packages.
  • Layer Fedora packages to the system which survive between system updates.
  • Check out Development for more information.

Security Improvements

Bazzite supports LUKS Disk Encryption, Secure Boot, and TPM unlock of the encrypted disk. Bazzite also has SELinux (Security Enhanced Linux) enabled and pre-configured by default.

Secure Boot support is also useful for dual-booting with Windows, since it is required for certain anti-cheat software. Read more in the Secure Boot Guide.