I’ve used gamescope with some of my Steam games in the past just fine, but recently, whenever I tried it, it straight up does not work - Steam does the Stop-Start charade and never really launches the game. I really need gamescope, as one of my games (SIGNALIS) does not have key re-mapping, and gamescope was the only way I could get it to work on my keyboard layout.
I tried adding programs.gamescope.enable to configuration.nix, on top of the option for programs.steam, but it didn’t fix it. Has anyone else run into this problem? I’m on nixpkgs-unstable, using AMD graphics. Any and all help is appreciated! 
Here is my relevant configuration:
# configuration.nix
{ config, inputs, lib, pkgs, pkgs-stable, ... }:
{
imports =
[ # Include the results of the hardware scan.
./hardware-configuration.nix
];
# Use the systemd-boot EFI boot loader.
boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
boot.loader.efi.canTouchEfiVariables = true;
# Use the latest linux kernel
boot.kernelPackages = pkgs.linuxPackages_latest;
# Spin up the amdgpu driver at launch.
boot.initrd.kernelModules = [ "amdgpu" ];
# Enable support for NTFS drives
boot.supportedFilesystems = [ "ntfs" ];
# Mount options for BTRFS subvolumes (no touchy!)
fileSystems = {
"/".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/etc".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/home".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/nix".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/opt".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/.snapshots".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/srv".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/swap".options = [ "noatime" ];
"/usr/local".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/usr/share".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/var".options = [ "compress=zstd"];
"/var/cache".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/var/log".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
"/var/tmp".options = [ "compress=zstd" ];
};
# Declare the swapfile
swapDevices = [ {device = "/swap/swapfile"; } ];
# Enable AMD GPU Hardware Acceleration
hardware.graphics = {
enable = true;
enable32Bit = true;
# package = pkgs-stable.mesa;
# extraPackages = [
# pkgs.amdvlk
# ];
# extraPackages32 = [
# pkgs.driversi686Linux.amdvlk
# ];
};
# Enable automatic /nix/store optimization during rebuilds = "This may slow down builds; also,
# this option only applies to new files, so it is recommended to optimize /nix/store when first
# setting this option" - wiki.nixos.org
nix.settings.auto-optimise-store = true; # Note the spelling of the word "optimise"
# Enable automatic garbage collection - please use!
nix.gc = {
automatic = true;
dates = "daily";
options = "--delete-older-than 7d";
};
networking.hostName = "soxin"; # Define your hostname.
# Pick only one of the below networking options.
# networking.wireless.enable = true; # Enables wireless support via wpa_supplicant.
networking.networkmanager.enable = true; # Easiest to use and most distros use this by default.
# Set your time zone.
time.timeZone = "US/Eastern";
# Configure network proxy if necessary
# networking.proxy.default = "http://user:password@proxy:port/";
# networking.proxy.noProxy = "127.0.0.1,localhost,internal.domain";
# Select internationalisation properties.
# i18n.defaultLocale = "en_US.UTF-8";
# console = {
# font = "Lat2-Terminus16";
# keyMap = "us";
# useXkbConfig = true; # use xkb.options in tty.
# };
# Enable the X11 windowing system.
services.xserver.enable = true;
# Enable the GNOME Desktop Environment.
services.xserver.displayManager.gdm.enable = true;
services.xserver.desktopManager.gnome.enable = true;
# Configure keymap in X11
services.xserver.xkb = {
layout = "us";
variant = "colemak_dh";
options = "backspace:capslock";
};
# services.xserver.xkb.options = "eurosign:e,caps:escape";
# Enable CUPS to print documents.
services.printing.enable = true;
# (Possibly) fix Logitech mouse issues post-wake
services.udev.extraRules = ''
# disable USB auto suspend for Logitech, Inc. G PRO Gaming Mouse
ACTION=="bind", SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="046d", ATTR{idProduct}=="c08c", TEST=="power/control", ATTR{power/control}="on"
'';
# Enable sound.
# services.pulseaudio.enable = true;
# OR
security.rtkit.enable = true;
services.pipewire = {
enable = true;
alsa.enable = true;
alsa.support32Bit = true;
pulse.enable = true;
};
# Enable touchpad support (enabled default in most desktopManager).
# services.libinput.enable = true;
# Define a user account. Don't forget to set a password with ‘passwd’.
users.users.craigory = {
isNormalUser = true;
extraGroups = [ "wheel" "gamemode" ]; # Enable ‘sudo’ for the user.
# packages = with pkgs; [
# tree
# ];
};
# Enable the Flakes feature and the accompanying new nix command-line tool.
nix.settings.experimental-features = [ "nix-command" "flakes" ];
# Allow unfree packages
nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = true;
# Enable dconf
programs.dconf.enable = true;
# Install firefox
programs.firefox.enable = true;
# Install java
programs.java.enable = true;
# Install, configure steam
programs.steam = {
enable = true;
package = pkgs.steam.override {
extraLibraries = pkgs: [ pkgs.xorg.libxcb ];
};
extraCompatPackages = with pkgs; [
proton-ge-bin
];
gamescopeSession.enable = true;
remotePlay.openFirewall = true; # Open ports in the firewall for Steam Remote Play
dedicatedServer.openFirewall = true; # Open ports in the firewall for Source Dedicated Server
};
# Enable gamemode
programs.gamemode.enable = true;
/* # Enable gamescope
programs.gamescope = {
enable = true;
capSysNice = false;
}; */
# Set the defaul editor to be helix
environment.variables.EDITOR = "helix";
# Set XDG_RUNTIME_DIR
environment.variables.XDG_RUNTIME_DIR = "/run/user/$(id -u)";
# Fix double cursor (hopefully) by forcing software rendering of the cursor only
environment.sessionVariables.WLR_NO_HARDWARE_CURSORS = "1";
/*
# Make sure Electron applications default to Wayland instead of X11 on Hyprland.
environment.sessionVariables.NIXOS_OZONE_WL = "1";
*/
# For protonup command
# environment.sessionVariables = {
# STEAM_EXTRA_COMPAT_TOOLS_PATHS =
# "/home/user/.steam/root/compatabilitytools.d"};
# };
# List packages installed in system profile.
# You can use https://search.nixos.org/ to find more packages (and options).
environment.systemPackages =
( with pkgs; [
# Applications & Packages
aisleriot
appflowy
blackbox-terminal
blender-hip
discord
# floorp
fractal
gapless
ghostty
gnome-2048
gnome-chess
gnome-sudoku
gnome-tweaks
gradience
handbrake
helix
heroic
# kdePackages.kdenlive
krita
librewolf
mangohud
neovim
obs-studio
parabolic
prismlauncher
recordbox
shotcut
tagger
tenacity
tor-browser
vim # Do not forget to add an editor to edit configuration.nix! The Nano editor is also installed by default.
vlc
wget
zoom-us
# Codecs and friends
ffmpeg-full
mlt
# Cursors
# posy-cursors
# Fonts
/* geist-font
inconsolata
redhat-official-fonts
ubuntu-sans
ubuntu-sans-mono */
# Git
git
# GNOME Extensions
gnomeExtensions.accent-directories
gnomeExtensions.alphabetical-app-grid
gnomeExtensions.blur-my-shell
gnomeExtensions.dash-to-dock
gnomeExtensions.dash-to-panel
gnomeExtensions.fuzzy-app-search
gnomeExtensions.grand-theft-focus
gnomeExtensions.just-perfection
gnomeExtensions.launch-new-instance
gnomeExtensions.osd-volume-number
gnomeExtensions.status-area-horizontal-spacing
gnomeExtensions.weather-oclock
# Icons
morewaita-icon-theme
# Libreoffice and Hunspell Dictionaries
libreoffice
hunspell
hunspellDicts.en_US-large
hunspellDicts.es_ANY
# Miscellaneous Theming
adw-gtk3
# Proton
protonup
protontricks
# Terminal Utilities
fastfetch
freshfetch
neo-cowsay
neofetch
solitaire-tui
sssnake
traceroute
tree
zenith
# Keyboard Layout
colemak-dh
])
++
( with pkgs-stable; [
# Applications & Packages
floorp
# prismlauncher
]);
fonts.packages =
(with pkgs; [
_3270font
adwaita-fonts
atkinson-hyperlegible-next
atkinson-hyperlegible-mono
bront_fonts
dinish
dotcolon-fonts
fira-sans
fragment-mono
# geist-font
inconsolata
jost
league-of-moveable-type
liberation_ttf
libertine
meslo-lg
mona-sans
nerd-fonts.geist-mono
pretendard
profont
redhat-official-fonts
sn-pro
ubuntu-sans
ubuntu-sans-mono
uiua386
])
++
( with pkgs-stable; [
geist-font
]);
system.stateVersion = "25.05"; # Did you read the comment?
}
# flake.nix
{
description = "NixOS configuration";
inputs = {
# This is pointing to an unstable release.
# If you prefer a stable release instead, you can this to the latest number shown here: https://nixos.org/download
# i.e. nixos-24.11
# Use `nix flake update` to update the flake to the latest revision of the chosen release channel.
nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
nixpkgs-stable.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-25.05";
nixpkgs-behind.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-24.11";
home-manager = {
url = "github:nix-community/home-manager";
inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
};
};
outputs = inputs @ { self, nixpkgs, nixpkgs-stable, nixpkgs-behind, home-manager, ... }:
let
system = "x86_64-linux";
lib = nixpkgs.lib;
pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system};
pkgs-stable = nixpkgs-stable.legacyPackages.${system};
pkgs-behind = nixpkgs-behind.legacyPackages.${system};
in
{
nixosConfigurations.soxin = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
specialArgs = {
inherit inputs;
pkgs-stable = import nixpkgs-stable {
inherit system;
config.allowUnfree = true;
};
pkgs-behind = import nixpkgs-behind {
inherit system;
config.allowUnfree = true;
};
};
# system = "x86_64-linux";
modules = [
./configuration.nix
home-manager.nixosModules.home-manager
{
home-manager = {
useGlobalPkgs = true;
useUserPackages = true;
users.craigory = import ./home.nix;
extraSpecialArgs = { inherit inputs; inherit pkgs-stable; inherit pkgs-behind; };
backupFileExtension = "homemgrbackup-";
};
}
];
};
};
}