The Open Gaming Collective (OGC) has been announced, bringing together several prominent projects within the Linux community.
This collaborative group includes projects such as Bazzite & Universal Blue, ASUS Linux, ShadowBlip, PikaOS, Fyra Labs, ChimeraOS, Nobara, and Playtron. The OGC’s mission, as stated on its new website, aims to address the fragmentation within the Linux gaming ecosystem.
The OGC’s goal is to centralize development around crucial components like Gamescope and hardware drivers. This initiative seeks to overcome the historical fragmentation where individual Linux distributions often duplicated efforts on kernel patches, input tooling, and essential packages.
Kyle Gospodnetich, founder of Bazzite, shared details about the OGC in an announcement on the official Bazzite forum.
The OGC is described as a collaborative organization uniting significant projects in Linux gaming. Participants include ChimeraOS, Nobara, Playtron, Ultramarine & Fyra Labs, PikaOS, ShadowBlip, ASUS Linux, and Bazzite under Universal Blue, with additional partners expected to join.
The primary objective of the OGC is to centralize efforts on critical components such as kernel patches, input tooling, and essential gaming packages like Gamescope. This approach aims to allow improvements to be shared across the entire ecosystem, rather than individual distributions maintaining separate patches and fragmented hardware support. This means that advancements made by one project will benefit all participating projects.
The OGC’s kernel development follows an upstream-first strategy, ensuring that all patches released by the OGC are submitted for review and potential inclusion into the main Linux kernel.
This strategy is expected to result in enhanced hardware compatibility, reduced duplication of effort, and a more unified Linux gaming experience.
A similar announcement was also published on the Fyra Labs blog.
Bazzite is a Linux-based operating system tailored for an optimal gaming experience on both desktops and handheld devices. It is frequently utilized as an alternative to SteamOS on various hardware.
This development is significant, as it demonstrates a commitment from Linux developers to collaborate and pool resources rather than repeatedly developing similar solutions. The aim is to enhance the Linux gaming ecosystem for all users.
Gospodnetich’s forum post also detailed specific changes for Bazzite:
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HHD will no longer receive updates and will be replaced by InputPlumber. This input framework is already utilized by SteamOS, ChimeraOS, Nobara, Playtron GameOS, Manjaro Handheld Edition, and CachyOS Handheld Edition.
- Features like RGB and fan control will be integrated into the Steam UI. Features not supported by the Steam UI will be managed through a streamlined overlay, similar to the existing HHD experience.
- If specific hardware requires older libraries, a rollback and pin system will be available, with issues being triaged as they arise.
- Features like RGB and fan control will be integrated into the Steam UI. Features not supported by the Steam UI will be managed through a streamlined overlay, similar to the existing HHD experience.
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Bazzite will integrate the OGC kernel, providing ongoing support for features such as secure boot, expanded controller support, and steering wheel support. These features will be collaboratively maintained within the shared kernel project.
Gospodnetich also stated that patches made to various Valve packages will be shared with the OGC, with efforts to upstream as much as possible.
The Bazzite team is also evaluating Faugus Launcher, a newer game launcher, as a potential replacement for Lutris. A minimum of six months’ advance notice will be provided if this change becomes default.
