Several Linux gaming projects have united to form the Open Gaming Collective, aiming to standardize the gaming experience on the open-source operating system. The group seeks to reduce duplicated efforts by centralizing development of key components like kernel patches and input frameworks. Founding members include Universal Blue's Bazzite, ASUS Linux, and PikaOS, with more expected to join.
The Open Gaming Collective (OGC) was established by a coalition of Linux distributions and organizations focused on gaming. Founding members include Universal Blue and its Bazzite distribution, ASUS Linux, ShadowBlip, PikaOS, and Fyra Labs. Additional collaborators such as ChimeraOS, Nobara, and Playtron are anticipated to provide support, though notable absences include Valve and System76.
The OGC's primary mission is to create a unified set of gaming-focused components benefiting the broader Linux ecosystem. This involves developing an OGC Kernel, which aggregates gaming-specific patches to address performance issues and bugs, and a downstream fork of Gamescope to enhance hardware support for handhelds and desktop GPUs. The collective adopts an "upstream-first approach," submitting improvements directly to projects like the mainline Linux kernel and Mesa to avoid permanent forks.
Bazzite, a Fedora-based distribution emphasizing atomic updates, has outlined immediate changes from the collaboration. It plans to phase out its custom Handheld Daemon in favor of InputPlumber, a unified input remapper already used by SteamOS, ChimeraOS, and Nobara. Features like RGB lighting and fan control will integrate into the Steam UI, improving consistency with the Steam Deck experience.
As stated in the OGC announcement, "Instead of each distribution maintaining its patches and struggling with fragmented hardware support, improvements can now be shared across the entire ecosystem." The group also aims to standardize support for Secure Boot and controllers, including steering wheels, starting with Bazzite. This effort addresses ongoing challenges in Linux gaming, such as anti-cheat software incompatibilities and varying hardware support from NVIDIA, while building on advancements like Valve's Proton layer.
Linux gaming has gained traction, with 3.58% of Steam users on the platform, over a quarter using SteamOS. The OGC's work could streamline development for game publishers, potentially easing native Linux releases beyond Proton.
