There's no need to wait on Valve releasing SteamOS 3 for everyone thanks to Bazzite. Some really impressive work continues to go into it, and it appears they're enjoying some nice overall growth.
Writing in a post on the Bazzite Discourse forum, developer Jorge O. Castro made a post titled "Just how many of us are there?" that went over some fun details, with comparisons to a few other Linux builds like Fedora Silverblue and Fedora Kinoite. One thing is clear from it — Bazzite is steadily increasing in popularity with over 25,000 systems active using it.
Heck, Bazzite even got a shout out in a recent Marvel Rival's patch note. More and more are taking notice of Linux for gaming, thanks to how actually easy it is to get going now. And a lot of it, of course, thanks to Valve with the Steam Deck making it truly accessible to millions of gamers. Bazzite has no plans to go anywhere even when SteamOS 3 is released for everyone.
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Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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☆ Promoted Comments
Thanks for the write up! We've also added this chart to our websites (Universal Blue and Bazzite), and they auto-update.
One important thing to note is that this is a weekly count, there may be more users but they just aren't powering on their machine every week or are using the device offline.
Feel free to watch it grow (or shrink) with us! I think transparency here is key and hopefully others follow in giving these numbers out freely.
One important thing to note is that this is a weekly count, there may be more users but they just aren't powering on their machine every week or are using the device offline.
Feel free to watch it grow (or shrink) with us! I think transparency here is key and hopefully others follow in giving these numbers out freely.
11 Likes, Who?
Full Comments
Mom, I'm on TV! among those 6.8k Kinoite users.
These Atomic images are so fun. I wonder if the Bazzite team still doesn't like it being called a distro.
These Atomic images are so fun. I wonder if the Bazzite team still doesn't like it being called a distro.
2 Likes, Who?
I'm using Kinoite as well on my spare laptop.
Great to see that they are getting lots of users ;)
Great to see that they are getting lots of users ;)
2 Likes, Who?
I honestly thought it would be closer to 100K, just based on how much coverage it's been getting. Especially from several prominent YouTube channels focused on handhelds.
1 Likes, Who?
Thanks for the write up! We've also added this chart to our websites (Universal Blue and Bazzite), and they auto-update.
One important thing to note is that this is a weekly count, there may be more users but they just aren't powering on their machine every week or are using the device offline.
Feel free to watch it grow (or shrink) with us! I think transparency here is key and hopefully others follow in giving these numbers out freely.
One important thing to note is that this is a weekly count, there may be more users but they just aren't powering on their machine every week or are using the device offline.
Feel free to watch it grow (or shrink) with us! I think transparency here is key and hopefully others follow in giving these numbers out freely.
11 Likes, Who?
Mohandevir a day ago
Great OS. These guys are doing an awesome job upgrading and maintaining it.
Unfortunately, bluetooth support, on my PC, is finicky with Bazzite. I was using it up to two weeks ago, when I discovered that I could use stock SteamOS, with my hardware (all AMD).
Last edited by Mohandevir on 14 Feb 2025 at 6:32 pm UTC
Unfortunately, bluetooth support, on my PC, is finicky with Bazzite. I was using it up to two weeks ago, when I discovered that I could use stock SteamOS, with my hardware (all AMD).
Last edited by Mohandevir on 14 Feb 2025 at 6:32 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
My only hope is that proper SteamOS comes out and it will work fine on Nvidia.
Bazzite currently has problems with this imo
Last edited by Cato-the-younger on 14 Feb 2025 at 8:04 pm UTC
Bazzite currently has problems with this imo
Last edited by Cato-the-younger on 14 Feb 2025 at 8:04 pm UTC
0 Likes
People should definitely also check out SteamFork. It takes over where HoloISO left off, and they are doing a way better job of pushing forward the concept of a downstream from steamOS distro. It tends to be fairly bleeding edge, so compatibility might be narrower, but in general, if you want the true deck experience on non-deck hardware, it's your closest bet.
0 Likes
17 hours ago
Perhaps a silly question but could Bazzite be a good replacement for SteamOS on a Steam Deck?
Does it do anything better?
Does it do anything better?
0 Likes
Perhaps a silly question but could Bazzite be a good replacement for SteamOS on a Steam Deck?
Does it do anything better?
Yes, it does pretty much everything better. Like for starters it has a more recent and optimised Linux kernel (+ related packages like the graphics drivers), which typically means better performance, as the Linux kernel and gfx drivers just keep getting better and better ever release. On top of that, there are various tweaks, such as custom CPU schedulers for more consistent frametimes and better multitasking. There's tons of more stuff - so much so that this comment box can't do justice to it - so just check their Github page and check it out for yourself. :)
2 Likes, Who?
I've been running it on my Deck that I put a DeckHD screen in, it works completely seamlessly with it, no need to run any hack like before. I've also got it running on a MiniPC in my living room to run emulation on, it was super easy to get set up and running.
While it won't replace my main Windows gaming PC yet (between the Nvidia card and it being not quite 100% feature compatible), the future of Linux for gaming is certainly bright.
While it won't replace my main Windows gaming PC yet (between the Nvidia card and it being not quite 100% feature compatible), the future of Linux for gaming is certainly bright.
0 Likes
Perhaps a silly question but could Bazzite be a good replacement for SteamOS on a Steam Deck?Not a silly question at all, experimentation is fun, but honestly I'd still stick with Valve's system.
Does it do anything better?
If you think/hope that just a recent kernel/driver will make a significant improvement in performance you could always switch to the "Main" channel updates, where they have more recent ones. But besides, even since the times of SteamOS 1/2, Valve always carefully patched their releases with whatever was needed for performance and security, so don't get discouraged just because you see they still use "ancient" kernels. Steam Deck is their baby/hardware, I'll bet you that they take good care of it.
As for extra features or improvements not officially present/preinstalled there's always Decky Loader with a trove of goodies.
Where Bazzite shines is general hardware support, hardware that Valve doesn't support (for now).
1 Likes, Who?
If you think/hope that just a recent kernel/driver will make a significant improvement in performance
No, actually it's the desktop. Last summer my Deck replaced my living room media and TV PC, where I frequently use desktop mode. Plasma 5 is awful for that, because of scaling issues and problems when using it on the fly docked/handheld. Plasma 6 or Gnome would be a way better experience.
But it would not be worth it if i have to give up the just-works-game-console-UX of SteamOS.
2 Likes, Who?
CyborgZeta 8 hours ago
I imagine I show up in the Bazzite statistics, but despite using Aurora on both of my laptops, you won't see me in Aurora statistics. I very rarely power on my laptops. Either way, I like what Universal Blue team offers, and I'm happy to use their distributions.
Last edited by CyborgZeta on 15 Feb 2025 at 2:08 pm UTC
Last edited by CyborgZeta on 15 Feb 2025 at 2:08 pm UTC
0 Likes
There's no need to wait on Valve releasing SteamOS 3 for everyone thanks to Bazzite.
Between SteamOS and Bazzite I will choose SteamOS, thanks.
0 Likes
Lunduke just did a report on Bazzite. Goes in to detail about how they censor their users.
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