Not a SD user, but a desktop gamer who found your post. I wouldn’t be surprised to see people on the fediverse say they often play games outside of Steam.
The non-techy people I know treat the thing like a console and refuse to use desktop mode for games. That’s the catch of the Steam Deck. It runs Linux underneath, but most people never (want to) interact with it. I love it for what it does for Linux gaming but there’s more to PC gaming than just Steam - Although I’m aware that Steam probably underprices these with hopes to recoup the loss back on Steam purchases.
(Also your method isn’t really hacky, that’s just kind of how binary executables work in Linux, plus the steps to add it to Steam)
Not really. Most recommend Framework because their laptops are open to the point where third parties can make random peripherals that fit the expansion ports. They have a page to help with choosing a distro for their hardware as well. It’s great to see this level of open-ness and repairability in a laptop. Naturally, Linux users gravitate to such a brand.
System76 leverage their own distro, Pop!_OS as a selling point for their laptops, as they have some degree of control over the hardware and software.
The other maker I’d recommend is Tuxedo Computers who also maintain their own distro for hardware they sell.