When SteamOS launched in 2013, it was quite undercooked. It used a Debian base and was much slower to update. Not to mention, Proton wasn’t a thing back then, making its use as a gaming-focused operating system (compared to Windows) a lot less appealing.

Fast-forward to 2026, and a lot of things have changed, and SteamOS runs on an Arch base now, incorporating faster updates and, more importantly, Proton. Proton isn’t perfect, but it is pretty darn good at what it does, letting Linux users play most Windows games with minimal setup. It’s also a perfectly capable desktop operating system, even if it does come with its share of quirks.

Some of these quirks were enough to drive me over the edge and switch to a more traditional Linux-based desktop operating system, just so that I could have better control over my hardware. Here are four of the best alternatives.

Bazzite

Supports Nvidia cards and has many more nifty features

Bazzite is perhaps one of the more popular but older “SteamOS clones” that were released back in the heyday, when there weren’t as many alternatives. Things have certainly changed now, and Bazzite isn’t the only option anymore.

That being said, it’s still quite good and offers features that vanilla SteamOS doesn’t. A look at the Bazzite webpage and you’ll be greeted with a slew of options. In addition to the default KDE desktop, Bazzite also lets users choose a GNOME desktop instead, which makes more sense for touchscreen devices such as handhelds.

Unlike SteamOS, though, Bazzite includes experimental support for Nvidia GPUs. Modern Nvidia RTX GPUs work best, but expect there to be some degree of friction — Nvidia on Linux doesn’t always behave nicely.

There’s also a whole selection of additional packages and scripts that can be invoked with the “ujust” command. These include common fixes for more niche setups involving things like HDMI-CEC and local game streaming, but they’re nice to have, nonetheless.

It certainly beats SteamOS in modularity, and has way too many additional features to count. Interestingly enough. Bazzite is built on top of Fedora, unlike SteamOS’ Arch Linux base. It’s still functionally identical, though, even sharing the same immutable installation, which can be good or bad, depending on your use case.

CachyOS Handheld

CachyOS but optimized for handheld gaming devices

CachyOS Handheld is one of the “flavors” offered by the official installer. You’ll need to download a separate installer, and it’s tailored for handheld devices. It essentially aims to replicate a SteamOS-like interface (including the KDE desktop switching) with all the benefits of CachyOS.

It works out surprisingly well too, and given how performant CachyOS is (with all the bleeding-edge goodness), you can get some surprising gains here and there. Since it also has unrestricted access to the AUR, you can theoretically install any compatible software with an AUR helper like Paru.

It’s also not an immutable install, which means you have full access to all of its partitions. You’re free to break, repair, and modify the installation to your heart’s content. This makes it ideal for tinkerers and hobbyists.

That being said, CachyOS is still very much Arch Linux — you’ll have to learn to maintain the system, with the Arch and CachyOS Wikis remaining your best bet. It’s a bit of a learning curve (albeit a fun one!) and might not suit beginners.

Also, I wouldn’t recommend using the Handheld ISO image on anything other than a real x86 handheld gaming PC. There are a lot of things that break when you try to install it on a regular PC or laptop. If you still want the gaming mode user interface of SteamOS, there’s always the cachyos-handheld package, or arch-deckify script instead.

Nobara Linux

For those who want a non-immutable Fedora spin

Much like Bazzite, Nobara Linux also uses Fedora as its base. Unlike the former, Nobara isn’t immutable at all, offering a more traditional desktop build instead. Think of it as CachyOS, but Fedora.

Nobara also includes a bunch of additional tweaks and utilities, including creator GloriousEggroll’s custom Proton fork, known as Proton-GE. Proton-GE offers a few additional tweaks and bumps over the standard Proton Experimental translation layer, which makes it a better pick.

Unlike CachyOS though, Nobara comes pre-installed with a lot more programs, designed to ease in a relatively new Linux user. This includes gaming tools like Steam and the requisite AMD/Nvidia GPU drivers, which makes setup a lot less of a hassle.

Nobara also has Steam-HTPC and Steam-Handheld versions that mimic the full SteamOS experience. It’s quite fast and more often than not, just works.

Arch Linux with a custom installer for the SteamOS UI

A hassle to set up, but worth it for control alone

This is my current favorite way to get a gaming setup working. It leverages the arch-deckify script on top of an existing, vanilla Arch Linux installation to do what SteamOS does — just with the advantage of, well, being Arch.

As much as I like SteamOS, it’s not perfect. Hardware support is limited, with Nvidia GPUs being entirely unsupported (for now). It’s also immutable, which means I cannot install certain additional programs or drivers without worrying about them getting wiped in the next update.

To me, SteamOS felt like I put the training wheels back on, and its restrictive nature makes it unappealing for my use. Vanilla Arch Linux is an operating system I’m more familiar with, and I like to have control of my OS.

With the installer script and SDDM enabled, it’s easy to switch from one desktop environment to the SteamOS gaming mode UI, and it works rather seamlessly. It’s also the “complete” SteamOS experience, supporting additional niceties like Decky Loader. It might not be an easy solution, and it is a pain to set up, but there’s nothing that offers the same level of granular control.

It’s not just raw FPS numbers you should look for in an operating system

When it comes to raw performance numbers and benchmarks, SteamOS might not be the best. Alternatives like CachyOS do pull ahead, but the difference is often marginal and, honestly, not worth fussing over.

Most “gaming” focused Linux distributions perform about the same and are generally tuned toward more modern hardware. This makes picking a Linux distro both easy and difficult.

I’d recommend trying each one out and picking the one you’re most comfortable with. It could be SteamOS’ hands-off management, or CachyOS’ granular control that draws you in, but that is the beauty of Linux — there’s something for everyone.