When I first began researching Linux, for my needs, I found the number of different Distros to be overwhelming. So I made this flow chart, with the intent to help new users find a starting point for choosing a distribution.
I'm open to critique, as to making this chart as helpful as possible.
EDIT: Chart updated based on suggestions in the comments.
Interesting. Keep reading a lot about some builds being less compatible with certain kinds of hardware. Just running games is one thing. Having them run optimized is another. Thanks though, will check it out some more.
Having owned a Steamdeck for a bit; was surely impressed with Valves' work on Linux gaming.
Frankly, you'll probably not notice a 1 or 2% difference. The main difference is probably that everything gaming related will already be installed, which is nice I suppose, if you're not comfortable poking around at your stuff. But all in all, most distributions will end up being fairly similar in the end. They all install the same software after all. The only real thing that has changed lately is the immutable ones, should you want to go that way. Apart from that, it really doesn't matter that much. Find one that works on your machine, isn't too exotic so you can find other users in case of trouble, and be happy.