Linux gaming has come a long way. With Valve pushing Proton and the Steam Deck normalizing Linux as a gaming platform here are the distros that actually deliver.
Bazzite
Built on Fedora Atomic, Bazzite is purpose-built for gaming. It comes pre-configured with Steam, Lutris, and all the drivers you need. Updates are atomic so you never break your system.
Nobara
GloriousEggroll (the Proton-GE maintainer) built this Fedora-based distro specifically for gamers. Includes gaming-specific kernel patches and out-of-box codec support.
Pop OS
System76 delivers a polished experience with excellent NVIDIA driver support. The tiling window manager is a productivity bonus for gaming and streaming setups.