PlaytronOS: new Linux gaming OS aims to dethrone Windows, SteamOS with support for 'every store'

Valve's Steam Deck largely blew the doors off the handheld gaming PC market, doing a lot for the Linux gaming scene in the process. That said, many of the best gaming handhelds, like the Asus ROG Ally (currently on sale for $599.99 with AMD's Ryzen Z1 Extreme at Best Buy) still run Windows, which can be problematic when it comes to performance on the less-powerful hardware.

Playtron aims to change this, diversifying the handheld gaming landscape with a Linux-based operating system that it pitches as a “light weight gaming OS optimized for a new generation of powerful handheld gaming PCs… and beyond.” Playtron's biggest marketing pitch seems to be universal compatibility, touting support for both x86 and ARM architectures, meaning it should even come to devices like the Anbernic RG405M Retro Handheld (curr. $179.99 on Amazon).

From the looks of the site, though, Playtron seems to take much of the same approach as the likes of Nobara Linux does now and CyanogenMod did back in the day — pre-configuring the operating system and configuring a collection of open-source apps and programs into the OS to make a ready-to-go experience.

Curiously, the marketing material on Playtron's homepage criticises SteamOS — which takes a similar approach to Playtron but with a few closed-source tweaks — as a “Linux based game OS compatible with Steam only. Locked to the Valveverse.” Which is patently untrue, considering it is trivial to install apps like Heroic Games launcher, Wine, and emulators, like RetroArch on SteamOS using systems like Flatpak and the built-in app store.

While the criticism of SteamOS might be somewhat inaccurate, Playtron does differ from SteamOS in the sense that it seems to be an open-source project and will actively work with the Linux community to accelerate development of the platform.

As of the time of writing, Playtron has garnered $10 million in seed funding, according to the Verge, and has a team with experience from software giants like Cyanogen, Call of Duty, Google, Red Hat, Samsung, and Sega. If Playtron wants to be anything more than a generic Linux distribution with a gaming twist, it might need all of that expertise.

We will all get to see how Playtron turns out later this year, when it launches for Steam Deck and other handheld gaming PCs.

If you're after a handheld gaming PC, the Asus ROG Ally with AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme performed admirably in our tests and is on sale — linked above. Alternatively, the Lenovo Legion Go offers a bigger screen and detachable controls for $699.99 from Lenovo directly.