Linux gamers on Steam finally cross over the 3% mark

Bazzite is far more newbie friendly than Arch/CachyOS, and can be used for pretty much everything besides gaming

I don't think so. Immutable distro puts a lot of restrictions on its use cases, so I wouldn't consider it pretty much for everything purpose. "User friendly" is a double edged if you simply can't do what you need.

More like "super restricted so you can't easily break things" - yeah. But that doesn't mean it suits all needs.


Last edited by Shmerl on 3 Nov 2025 at 5:32 pm UTC

Immutable distro puts a lot of restrictions on its use cases

Of which the vast majority of normal users won't even notice.

Of which the vast majority of normal users won't even notice.

That depends on what you call normal. Can you for example configure kernel modules there or immutability prevents that? Can you run stuff like VMs? "Normal" is too loose to describe it. I'd always see immutable distro as limiting and not general purpose enough.

If it covers your use cases - then it's useful. It is most fitting for console set ups in the gaming context.


Last edited by Shmerl on 3 Nov 2025 at 6:01 pm UTC

Normal users are never going to be configuring anything to do with the kernel.

Regular users just wants to run their games and discord and a web browser, for which immutables are perfectly sufficient, just look at SteamOS, it has far more share than any other distro on Steam and it's immutable. If you see them as restrictive, there's enough mutable options out there you can use. I value the stability and robustness of Bazzite, its zero maintenance nature, the fact that updates (even major OS upgrades) are instant, and that you basically have a cloud save for your operating system built in, in addition to local rollback options.


Last edited by Stella on 3 Nov 2025 at 7:16 pm UTC

Somewhat recent bazzite user here (haven't updated system specs yet), I can clarify on some of the points. Bazzite does allow most power user cases but usually in a specific "Bazzite way" endorsed and documented by the developers by the distro. Bazzite has "ujust scripts" that automate power user cases and comes preinstalled with some power user tools. If you follow their docs, great! If you have a mothod you are used to already, you need a change of habits.
* General development needs: A mutable distro in a container is actually a reasonable solution. Distrobox makes it easy to create a containerized distro in which you can install development tools. You can use GUI apps in a container on the host distro and share your /home folder.
* Installing RPMs that need system level access: RPMs need a process called "layering" which generates a new image with each package you install. Installing packages is advertised as a last resort because doing so can increase update times or completely halt updates, similar to having to remove PPAs on Ubuntu before a version upgrade.
* Kernel Modules: Bazzite comes with more kernel modules than most distros. Kernel modules for Xbox controllers, Broadcom Wi-Fi and a few other ones are included. If a kernel module you need is not there, you will need to create a "custom image" that bundles the kernel module you need. Layering will not work. Custom image is basically creating a new definition that is based on Bazzite and changing your source to a repository on GitHub.
I'm actually affected by this, a maintainer refuses to include a modified module for fan control on Gigabyte motherboards due to safety concerns.
* Virtual machines: Qemu and virt-manager are installed, USB and GPU passthrough can be configured via a "ujust" script. Virtualbox with acceleration will not work because its kernel module cannot be installed.
* Remote Desktop: Sunshine is preinstalled.
* Remote Access: Tailscale and SSH are preinstalled.
* VPNs: Installing a VPN that has a flatpak is recommended yet there are only 2 lol. Proton VPN and Mozilla's VPN. An alternative is downloading an OpenVPN or Wireguard configuration and importing it to NetworkManager. This is rather uncommon but is a simple process can be done entirely with a GUI. If your VPN provider gives you the conf files. Layering as a "last resort" is also possible, except that flatpak and conf files barely cover most people's needs regarding VPNs.
* DEs other than GNOME and Plasma: Custom image, see kernel modules above.
* 3rd party software that assumes host system is modifiable: Tough luck. Patch the software.

I prefer VMs over containers for development. I played around with lxc containers, but it always felt much easier to set up a user session qemu/kvm + libvirt VM (in something like virt-manager) than jump through the hoops of setting a non privileged lxc container and all permissions for it. lxc seems to be better prepared for privileged use cases. Or may be I just need more experimenting with it.

I'm not really sold on immutable distros for normal desktop use cases anyway, I don't see a major benefit in losing flexibility for general purpose needs. So far the only case where I'm using one is with OpenWRT [External Link] for my router. Immutability makes sense there due to special installation requirements on the embedded devices. Customization with packages there is possible using overlayfs. It doesn't need to generate a new image, it keeps immutable components separate from installed packages.

If a kernel module you need is not there, you will need to create a "custom image" that bundles the kernel module you need.

Which sort of starts defeating the purpose of using such approach. It's easier to build just a module than to build a whole new image to use a single module.


Last edited by Shmerl on 4 Nov 2025 at 1:27 am UTC

needing to use an aternative kernel is quite common for those who work with audio (they need an real time kernel)