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Multi-seat game streaming on Linux: everyone gets their own game

A Linux host can give each streaming device its own game: its own screen, input, sound and mic, and optionally its own Steam.

Connect a second person to a typical streaming host and they get your screen: same picture, same sound, one mouse pointer. On Linux, Punktfunk can give each device its own game instead.

One gamescope per device

With Dedicated game sessions, every game started from a device's Punktfunk library runs in its own headless gamescope at that device's resolution and refresh rate. Each session gets:

  • its own picture;
  • its own keyboard and mouse input, which reaches that game only;
  • its own sound;
  • its own microphone for voice chat. That needs PipeWire 1.6 or newer.

A reconnect from the same device lands back in its own game.

Turn it on

  1. Install gamescope 3.16.22 or newer on the host. Without gamescope, Dedicated falls back to Auto.
  2. In the web console, open Displays and set Dedicated game sessions to Dedicated.
  3. Keep A second device connects on Gets its own screen, as the Default preset does.
  4. The game lives as long as its screen, which the Default preset keeps 10 seconds after a dropped connection. For a game that waits, pick Keep until released under After a device disconnects.

Two Steam games at once

Steam per seat gives each paired device its own Steam home, so two devices can each play a Steam game while the desktop Steam keeps running. Without it, sessions share one Steam. Turn it on under Host → Settings, Show advanced, group Game Mode.

  • Each seat signs in to Steam once. One account plays on one seat at a time, so two players need two accounts.
  • Seats use your library folders, so nothing installs twice. It needs a native Steam, not the Flatpak.
  • Pads per seat shows each seat's Steam only its own device's controllers. It needs bubblewrap (bwrap). Non-Steam games and the box's own Steam still see every pad.

Limits

  • One GPU, shared. Two games split the GPU and its video encoder. GeForce cards also cap how many encoder sessions run at once.
  • One Moonlight session per host. A second Moonlight client takes over the first.
  • Launched games only. A desktop stream, the box's own Game Mode, or a KDE or GNOME desktop stays one shared session.
  • Windows gives a second device its own screen too, but as another monitor of the same desktop.

Full details: dedicated game sessions and Steam per seat. Background: headless streaming without a dummy plug.