Linux gamers may already be familiar with CachyOS, a gaming-focused Linux distro ideal for desktop users. It also has a ‘Handheld Edition’ with official support for the ROG Ally, Steam Deck (LCD and OLED), Legion Go, and Legion Go S. You can see it as another alternative to SteamOS, much like Bazzite, though CachyOS often boasts even better performance and bleeding-edge updates at the expense of the more console-like experience of Bazzite, which more closely mimics Valve’s operating system.

Three months into 2026, CachyOS has its second software release of the year, simply titled the March 2026 release (or 260308 based on its release date). The developers promise “significant handheld edition changes” along with animated desktop previews for the installer and Winboat integration to improve support of Windows apps on Linux.

Improvements to CachyOS Handheld Edition in the latest version

It seems like developing a closer connection to Valve’s official firmware updates is a growing priority. This matches up with the goals of the Open Gaming Collective (OGC), formed in January to help bring together Linux gaming distros such as Bazzite and ChimeraOS, although the founder of CachyOS (Peter Jung) declined to join, explaining his reasoning in a Reddit comment.

For the Handheld Edition, we have replaced gamescope-session-plus with gamescope-session-cachyos, which is forked from Valve’s gamescope-session and enables firmware updates for Steam Deck and Lenovo Legion Go devices. SDDM has been replaced with plasma-login-manager, and Limine is now selected as the default bootloader with automatic snapshots – systemd-boot will still be selectable.

Source: CachyOS March 2026 Release

Gamescope refers to a Wayland micro-compositor in the operating system that deals with isolating games & gaming-focused features from the desktop environment. On SteamOS, it helps create the more console-like interface you’ll be familiar with if you’ve used the Steam Deck before, while allowing support for performance tools/metrics, upscaling, and more.

Now that CachyOS Handheld Edition forks from Valve’s code, Steam Deck and Legion Go owners can enjoy better support. Valve officially supports the Steam Deck and Legion Go S at the time of writing, though Legion Go 2 is also getting a SteamOS launch in June. The new March update also replaces SDDM with plasma-login-manager and selects Limine as the default bootloader.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.