Pride-themed Bazzite logos by reisvg.
Bazzite is a custom image of Fedora Atomic Desktop 40 utilizing Universal Blue’s custom image framework designed to bring users the best in Linux gaming for their hardware. Bazzite’s newsletters highlight all of the work we have been doing to bring our users the best features ready to go for their PCs, home theater setups, and handheld gaming devices.
If you are new to the project, then here’s how this technology works. Bazzite and other Universal Blue images follow the continuous delivery methodology of development, which means we’re constantly adding new features and squashing bugs to the image through updates. These updates also include anything directly from upstream (Fedora and Universal Blue) and upgrades from the packages we include.
Hope you had a great Pride Month! 
This newsletter goes in-depth about the future plans of the project and what we’re working on currently with the next major release. Bazzite 3.5.0 is the next major Bazzite version and it was intended to be ready at the end of this month. It has been delayed until 1 major blocker is either fixed or we find a workaround. This upcoming release is a response to the feedback we have received over the course of the year in terms of new features, restoring older features that were removed, and squashing numerous bugs and major issues.
Bazzite 3.5.0 Delayed
A major update for Bazzite is planned to be released soon. The deadline was the end of this month, but it has been delayed due to one outstanding issue that blocks us from shipping it. This new update ships the new Nvidia 555 drivers which fixes numerous issues with Wayland with Nvidia hardware. Unfortunately, a new major issue exclusive to the new driver is keeping this new update from releasing properly. The new drivers crash Firefox instantly on Nvidia hardware, and since Firefox is pre-installed and the default browser on Bazzite, then we agreed that it is a better approach to wait for it get fixed upstream first.
There are several new changes upcoming in this update and if you would like to have it now, then feel free to try it in the :testing branch of Bazzite. Be warned that there may be other bugs that we missed or exclusive to specific hardware, so we encourage users to report any issues you have on our issue tracker. The team would like to to fix any outstanding issues before releasing this major update to everyone. It is recommended to pin your current deployment before rebasing to this branch, and when this update releases it is encouraged to rebase back to the :stable channel since :testing may fall behind on updates until the next major release is ready.
Read the Updates, Rollbacks, and Rebasing guide for information on how to update, pin deployments, rebase to different update branches, and rollback system updates on Bazzite.
This release originally was going to be marketed as “Bazzite 3.1.0”, but there was many massive changes and overhauls that it bumped up to 3.5.0, but this is all arbitrary numbers and semantics anyways. This update was a major change for both Desktop and Handheld/HTPC variant users, and some documentation this week is going to change especially in regards to the Handheld Wiki. Stay tuned for more information regarding this update as it releases soon.
Nvidia 555 Driver for Universal Blue Announcement:
Survey Results
Most of the results are not accurate to all of the Bazzite users, but it was still a fun survey to see the results and what hardware/desktop environment the survey participants used. It was also a reminder to users that Homebrew is part of the image now and that Bazzite has official Framework community support.
The open-ended responses were the most valuable to us. There was numerous feedback including issues experienced and suggestions to improve Bazzite. Hopefully in the 3.5.0 update, many of the issues reported will be resolved especially regarding Nvidia graphics hardware and problems in Steam Gaming Mode. Some of your suggestions for the Bazzite Portal may actually make it in the future, but it will not until after the re-write, which is detailed later in this newsletter.
Near Future Updates (Post-Bazzite-3.5.0)
Several new things are in the works and planned on our roadmap for Bazzite as well as other Universal Blue projects, but no deadlines and time-frames are made yet. Please be extremely patient if you are an end-user waiting for one of these features. If you would like to collaborate and help us if you feel comfortable in any of these areas, please get in contact with us on the forums or on our Discord. Some of this stuff may not make it this year, but we have them on the to-do list for the near future.
Arm Runners
We’re waiting on Github ARM runners to become generally available before diving into this. Universal Blue would love to support Apple’s Mac M1 hardware soon thanks to the efforts of Asahi Linux. More information will be revealed as new revelations in the development of this future endeavor happens.
Discord thread archive for Universal Blue ARM/Ashai images:
Bazzite Portal Rewrite Artwork
If anyone would like to volunteer a generic logo for Yafti/Bazzite Portal then it would be appreciated. Meanwhile the rewrite effort has been going well by Alex Banna, but it has been put on hold for now. The rewrite should improve most of the quirks that occur with the current Bazzite Portal and overall more user friendly.
There is no specific time frame for when it is finished, so please stay patient with this. We appreciate Alex for rewriting the application for the project since the Portal is the first application that users will see after installing Bazzite, and first impressions matter. Alex has taken a momentary break for now, but progress will resume eventually on this. For now we encourage anyone who wants to contribute artwork to communicate and share artwork in the open issue linked below.
Open issue and discussion for the artwork:
Developer Edition
We are waiting on systemd-sysext extensions to mature as it develops, so instead of creating another Bazzite image dedicated to development tools it can be an extension that can be enabled which would be preferred in our opinion. Once all the necessary parts are connected with the sysext project then we will have a development version of Bazzite with a focus on game development.
For now, we recommend developers to use Bluefin (GNOME) or Aurora (KDE Plasma) to meet their needs. Both are Universal Blue custom images similar to Bazzite, but not gaming focused, and offer Development images. They function similarly to the Desktop Bazzite variant, and like other Linux operating systems, you can still game if you want.
Installer improvements
The installation experience is still a weak point of the project, and we would like to alleviate this with a live installer which has been a discussion point upstream and within the Universal Blue project. Check out the update from Timothée below:
The team also would like to have other enhancements like an on-screen keyboard especially since Bazzite is installed on both handheld and HTPC hardware that is controller first. We use Fedora’s installer, Anaconda, for every Universal Blue image since that is what Fedora ships with. However, it was never intended for some of the hardware that users have been installing Bazzite on since Fedora Linux was used mostly on desktops and laptops. The demand for a better installation user experience since Bazzite first released an ISO in August of last year has been heard, but hopefully the live installer from upstream can be built-in eventually to make it a much better installation experience.
Upstream Plans and Current Status of Container OSes
DEVCONF.CZ 2024, a Red Hat sponsored conference where they discuss the upcoming tech that all Universal Blue images depend on. Both videos are great watches, but we strongly recommend watching the keynote as it explains all of the things coming to Bazzite over the next year:
Keynote: What if you could boot a container?
Customize your OS like container or start new project without building new distro
Help Wanted: Graphic Design Artists
Bazzite, Bluefin, and Aurora have marketing materials such as this newsletter and announcements and we’re looking for graphic design artists who are interested in contributing to creating the images for the projects. Take a look at the newsletter’s first image to see why we are looking for people to help contribute artwork—graphics design is my passion! 
Thread:
Conclusion
The average Bazzite user
The 3.5.0 update includes Nvidia 555 driver support, Steam Deck OLED fixes, Handheld and HTPC improvements, AMD Polaris hardware workarounds for Steam Gaming Mode, Bluetooth controller fixes, and making the Bazzite image smaller while also restoring old features like Wallpaper Engine. We hope the remaining blocker is fixed upstream by the end of the week, but the longer it takes means the more issues can be fixed before making it into the :stable channel. Current and new users would prefer to have updates that do not break their system if that means waiting longer especially since this update is already available for testing for those who want the changes now. Stay tuned for this major update coming soon.
After Bazzite 3.5.0 is released within the next week or so there will still be updates from Fedora and Universal Blue, and 4.0.0 is still planned when the Fedora 41 builds release this year. Next month it will be one year since the public Bazzite beta started, and its amazing how far we have grown since then. Thanks for reading this month’s newsletter!
Community Resources
General Information
Social & Support
Contributing to Universal Blue & Bazzite
Changelog
(since the last Bazzite Buzz)
Desktop Images
Features
- Updated to Mesa 24.1.2
- Added MangoHud, DXVK, and vkBasalt config templates that can be created in the file manager
- Switch to OpenRGB AppImage due to Flatpak erroneously considering udev rules to be not present.
- Added Exhibit pre-installed to Bazzite for viewing 3D models
- Link Waydroid Setup Guide documentation
waydroid-launcher - Tweaked virtualization
ujustscripts to improve the user experience - Automatically disable Bluetooth ERTM to improve reliability of controller connections
- Override UserpaceHID in bluetooth input config
- Added ydotool
- Added advanced Chinese input method (fcitx5-chinese-addons)
- GNOME: Switched from Celluloid to Clapper
- GNOME: Switched from Evince to Papers
- GNOME: Added
ibus-mozcfor Japanese input
Fixes
- Fixed an issue with OpenTabletDriver
ujustcommand - Fixed a syntax error that broke Sunshine
- Added symlink from libdrm.so for SteamVR
- Updated Sunshine workaround to handle the symlink
- Fix Steam flickering on Nvidia hardware
- Power Profile Daemon’s “Balanced” profile now works properly
- Fixed an issue with OBS-VKCapture
- Cleaned up
fastfetchconfig (Thanks CarterLi) - Improved Steam Big Picture mode performance on multi-gpu AMD laptops.
- Framework/GNOME: Fixed setup issues
Handheld/HTPC Images
Features
- New features from the Desktop images that apply
- Added inital for the ONEXPLAYER 2 PRO 8840U
- Several rotation and scaling issues resolved with AYANEO AIR 1S, OXP2/Pro and ONEXFLY handheld hardware
- Added TDP detection for multiple GPUs
- Added a first-boot warning to users with Polaris GPUs
- Added a hidden
ujustto install HHD’s “main” branch locally - Updated SteamOS firmware
- KDE: Restored Nested Desktop functionality
Fixes
- Fixes from the Desktop images that apply
- Corrected missing Wi-Fi firmware for OLED models
- Patched broken Mura setup script