Linux for Gamers: Bazzite 44 based on Fedora 44
The "operating system for the next generation of gamers" is based on Fedora 44, updates desktop environments, and supports Elgato's 4K capture cards.
(Image: heise medien / Tim SchĂĽrmann)
With Bazzite, video gamers get a pre-configured Linux distribution optimized for their use case. On board are the Steam client, Lutris for convenient access to retro games, and more. The integrated proprietary Nvidia drivers extract maximum speed from compatible graphics cards, and the distribution also outputs HDR images to the monitor on AMD cards.
As the version number suggests, the new Bazzite 44 is based on Fedora 44. Desktop environments available are Gnome 50 and KDE Plasma 6.6. In the latter, users log in via the new Plasma login manager, a slightly modernized version of the previously used SDDM display manager. Speaking of Plasma: The Ptyxis terminal is no longer included. The Konsole terminal is available as an alternative and offers container support.
Kernel Tweaks
Under the hood, a kernel from the Open Gaming Collective (OGC) is at work. This working group optimizes the original Linux kernel for video games. Among other things, a different scheduler grants games more processing time. However, Brazzite 44 still uses the kernel 6.19, which is actually outdated. The Brazzite team will soon provide the current version 7.0, which will include the VRAM patchset developed by Valve. This, in turn, adds slightly more intelligent memory management that works more efficiently on graphics cards with little memory. This makes some games run at least a bit smoother.
Streamers can now record their firefights with Elgato's 4K-series capture cards. Further patches improve the integration of Asus hardware and its management via the “asusctl” tool. This is primarily beneficial for players with ASUS ROG and TUF series laptops, who can use the tool to change fan behavior and make their keyboards light up.
The Bazzite team provides a custom-tailored image for every possible combination of desktop environment, supported graphics card, and target system. In Bazzite 44, these have shrunk by about 1 GByte: the QEMU and ROCm components, which are mainly of interest to game developers, have been removed from the images and are now only part of Bazzite-DX. This special Bazzite edition is explicitly aimed at game developers; the abbreviation DX stands for “Developer eXperience.”
Also no longer included by default is Sunshine, which streams games to compatible Moonlight clients. Sunshine can be reinstalled via the “ujust” tool, which launches the Homebrew package manager in the background. This tool, often abbreviated as Brew, is originally from the macOS universe and is another special feature of Bazzite.
Despite the slimming measures, the ISO images still weigh over 7 GBytes. The Bazzite developers have not only signed them. To be able to trace the origin of the included components, corresponding Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) and GitHub's Build Attestation are also available.
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Like its predecessors, Bazzite 44 runs on numerous devices, including tablets and handhelds. However, owners of a Steam Deck will have to wait a bit longer. The Bazzite team intends to roll out the update to version 44 slowly at first to rule out problems for the majority of users.
You can try Bazzite 44 without obligation with an image for virtual machines. While the system won't unleash its full performance potential there, retro and simple 2D games can be used to test the distribution quite well. In any case, Bazzite strictly requires a UEFI system with at least 8 GByte of main memory.
(mho)
