The developer of ChimeraOS has announced Kazeta, a new Linux OS that aims to provide more of a classic gaming console like experience.
We have a Linux distribution for basically everything nowadays right? So why make another one as a passion project? Answering that, developer Alesh Slovak said in an email it's addressing these points they've been thinking on lately:
- I noticed a lot of non-technical people using ChimeraOS/SteamOS getting lost in Steam’s complex menu structure and struggling with basic things like launching and closing games.
- I became disenchanted with digital storefronts and have come back around to appreciating physical media: game cartridges, CDs, DVDs
- I have gotten more and more into collecting old physical games and systems and found them to be a much more pleasant experience than what modern gaming offers
- I have become more and more concerned with preserving my digital game collection for play in the future.
And so with that in mind the basic idea is that you grab DRM free games (from stores like GOG), and pop them onto SD Cards to turn them into cartridges that Kazeta will detect.
More from the developer:
To play a game cartridge on Kazeta, you simply insert the cartridge and turn on the system. When you are done playing, you press the power button to turn it off. That’s it. There are no accounts, no online requirements, no cloud, no nothing.
The cherry on top is that the cartridges are treated as read-only and save data is captured separately, keeping your games untouched and preserved forever.
If you boot a Kazeta system with no cartridge inserted, it will boot into a retro-style bios menu where you can manage your game saves, just like the gaming consoles from the latter half of the ‘90s.
Kazeta is definitely not for everyone. It requires a bit of work to get started, but I have been using it quite a bit the last few months and it has brought me a lot of joy. I hope it can bring joy to others as well.
See more on the website.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Dawe
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can also follow my personal adventures on Bluesky [External Link].
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Ok, fine... passion project and all that. But I am not going back to this no matter how rose tinted my glasses for the past are.
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I hope they would at least support multiple games per SD card? The last thing I need in my life is 175 tiny SD cards to lose between the couch cushions.
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It sounds like a fun project. And 32/64GB SD cards are pretty affordable nowadays.
But I doubt non-technical people will get much benefit out of it when you have to manually prepare your games in the first place. If you could buy prepared games that would be different. If GOG would be willing to sell cartridges with installed games that would be pretty cool.
Could be a fun gift idea if you're willing to set it up, though. I would've loved to have "my own console" as a child.
But I doubt non-technical people will get much benefit out of it when you have to manually prepare your games in the first place. If you could buy prepared games that would be different. If GOG would be willing to sell cartridges with installed games that would be pretty cool.
Could be a fun gift idea if you're willing to set it up, though. I would've loved to have "my own console" as a child.
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It's a cool concept but I already do enough tinkering as it is so wouldn't wanna go down this rabbit hole
For now I'm quite happy just having my offline installers from gog backed up on a HDD.
I also want to back them up onto a portable ssd at some point so if I ever need to install a gog game I can just ug it into the USB port and install my games as needed
In terms of retro emulation, I'm quite happy with batocera atm
For now I'm quite happy just having my offline installers from gog backed up on a HDD.
I also want to back them up onto a portable ssd at some point so if I ever need to install a gog game I can just ug it into the USB port and install my games as needed
In terms of retro emulation, I'm quite happy with batocera atm
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I totally like this idea. Good starting point for some low spec DIY console, a project that keeps haunting me. Maybe someday.
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you grab DRM free games (from stores like GOG)
If you have problems launching and closing games on Steam you will never get through „grabbing” anything from GOG or any other store.
That said, this appeals to me a lot.
Last edited by damarrin on 1 Sep 2025 at 1:32 pm UTC
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Yep, agree with other comments. Kazeta would need something like Heroic Game Launcher that shows, perhaps when you boot it without an SD Card in it - something that logs into GOG for you, presenting a list of games, then when you click on one, you get the option to "burn" the game to an SD Card.
They already do a bit of this:
I love the idea of this. The execution needs a bit... more. Would love to see it develop, even into hardware, or at least "recommended" hardware. It's just a very cool idea!
They already do a bit of this:
If you boot a Kazeta system with no cartridge inserted, it will boot into a retro-style bios menu where you can manage your game saves, just like the gaming consoles from the latter half of the ‘90s.
I love the idea of this. The execution needs a bit... more. Would love to see it develop, even into hardware, or at least "recommended" hardware. It's just a very cool idea!
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I am really struggling to understand who this might be for, and I agree with the other comments - where would you get the SD Cards from? Noone is selling SD Cards pre-loaded with games.
I feel like the only way this could really work is if some company put it on a pre-built or Mini PC and bundled the 'console' with pre-loaded games. Because let's be real, the kind of person that has trouble navigating the Steam UI wouldn't typically install their own operating system on something that came with say, Windows. But then you'd still have the issue of only being able to play the games that shipped with the 'console' - it becomes an extremely restricted system, just like the OG console it's meant to imitate. You get none of the advantages of PC such as modding and access to a huge library of games all the way to the DOS era. And at this point, why even bother with something like this. Also, the target audience for this is just far more likely to buy something like, a Switch.
But on the PC side, I cannot see how this 'cartridge based system' is ever going to succeed when all games are digital only. And for this, I feel like Steam Gaming mode does a pretty good job of consolifying the experience, a simple, easy to use interface for launching your games
Last edited by Stella on 1 Sep 2025 at 4:56 pm UTC
I feel like the only way this could really work is if some company put it on a pre-built or Mini PC and bundled the 'console' with pre-loaded games. Because let's be real, the kind of person that has trouble navigating the Steam UI wouldn't typically install their own operating system on something that came with say, Windows. But then you'd still have the issue of only being able to play the games that shipped with the 'console' - it becomes an extremely restricted system, just like the OG console it's meant to imitate. You get none of the advantages of PC such as modding and access to a huge library of games all the way to the DOS era. And at this point, why even bother with something like this. Also, the target audience for this is just far more likely to buy something like, a Switch.
But on the PC side, I cannot see how this 'cartridge based system' is ever going to succeed when all games are digital only. And for this, I feel like Steam Gaming mode does a pretty good job of consolifying the experience, a simple, easy to use interface for launching your games
Last edited by Stella on 1 Sep 2025 at 4:56 pm UTC
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I LOVE the idea, but I don't need ANOTHER wall of plastic with pretty game box art on it. Please let us put like 20 games on 1 SD card tho. The idea of having a cool rolodex filled with SD cards is fun, but a digital carousel is easier to manage and way more practical.
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i shared this to my gaming buddies after i stumbled on the reddit post announcing it .. its a neat project in concept and i Like the concept but its not for me. i still prefer physical media but i move so often it doesn't make sense . and even if i were willing to buy a bunch of SD cards and essentially burn the games to them like CDs back in the day how many ppl are going to know how to do that that didn't grow up knowing how and if you don't like digital store fronts in the first place where you getting the games less you have old media your converting? ,... just seems very niche even if neat
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Caldathras 51 minutes ago
As Julius said, a passion project. My issue is the apparent waste of storage space. The most commonly found SD card sizes are 16GB and up. What a waste of space for an old game that only requires 500MB!
Smaller cards can be found, but they are either overpriced or of very questionable 3rd-party quality and reliability.
I'm with @Linas and @BigRob029 on this. Allow the installation of more than one game on the SD cards and this has more potential.
That being said, Steam, Lutris, Heroic and many other launchers really do offer this experience already, without locking down an entire computer system to a single purpose. @Stella makes a lot of valid points.
Smaller cards can be found, but they are either overpriced or of very questionable 3rd-party quality and reliability.
I'm with @Linas and @BigRob029 on this. Allow the installation of more than one game on the SD cards and this has more potential.
That being said, Steam, Lutris, Heroic and many other launchers really do offer this experience already, without locking down an entire computer system to a single purpose. @Stella makes a lot of valid points.
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ElectricPrism 14 minutes ago
If you have problems launching and closing games on Steam you will never get through „grabbing” anything from GOG or any other store.
So true, I have so many GOG games and I have to document the installation process for each one, so I can reinstall them when the inevitable technological changes render the bottle broken.
I LOVE the idea, but I don't need ANOTHER wall of plastic with pretty game box art on it.
This is basically the RPG loop though:
explore > collect > spend > improve > explore
I might even argue that the downloads section of Steam and downloads of Linux distros basically gamifies this like a casino and gives a dopamine hit which addicts the users to the improvement loop ;P
Please let us put like 20 games on 1 SD card tho.
FTA, I think the dev was partially frustrated with navigating game menus. Thus the multi-game per storage kind of goes against his current method for simplifying this.
My issue is the apparent waste of storage space. The most commonly found SD card sizes are 16GB and up. What a waste of space for an old game that only requires 500MB!
Theoretically, all storage will keep increasing in density and you could fit 1024 Petabytes on something the size of a SD Card. This seems like a case where a cigar is just a cigar and not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. In the days of CD / DVD there was always leftover space on the optical discs.
If i was going to critique the concept I probably start with the lifespan of SD cards, but if they were read-only then it would be a nominal issue at replacing the SD card when they get burnt out. Or I might critique the read speed of current SD card readers compared against other storage options.
But you know what? Minor issues, I think an idea like this could gain serious traction, I would definately be up to collecting physical media, however SD is a little too small, make it Sony Mini Disc size and we got a deal ;P
Also, this is supposed to be the future? Can we at least have proper cold storage like 3D laser inscribed crystals or something instead of just chips with binary.
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