Valve’s Steam Deck runs SteamOS out of the box, which is based on Arch Linux. It allows for a simplified, almost console-style experience that’s easily navigated with the handheld’s controllers.
Despite Valve’s efforts, not every game runs smoothly on the Deck yet. Some games designed for Windows don’t yet play well with Steam’s Proton emulation layer for Linux. Additionally, SteamOS also doesn’t support non-Steam games, like those from the Epic Games Store.
