I'm inclined to agree about the performance optimizations between various distros being negligible, but there might still be room for more distros to optimize for compatibility.

The following is highly anecdotal and vibes-based. Please don't take my vague examples literally:

Between my Steam Deck (SteamOS) and Framework 16 (Bazzite), the Framework is obviously way more powerful, but I have a more flawless experience with some games on the Steam Deck in terms of 100% of the games I launch "just work"ing on there. With Bazzite on my Framework, it feels close to 100%, but every so often, I encounter a new demo or game that is finnicky about launching.

Idk if it's gamescope, the specialized hardware, or something else doing the heavy lifting for the Steam Deck (it's probably a mix of things), but I would love to see other Linux distros incorporate the software components to make gaming flawless on generic distros. It's really close, but I think there's room for growth to catch up with whatever the Steam Deck is doing.

And this is not me saying "wait for SteamOS to switch to Linux". You can easily install Steam on any distro and enjoy like 90% of the games on there with no fuss.

I agree, just use the distro that clicks for you. I've been gaming on good ol' Debian for a few years now. I tried most of the other recommended distros but always return to Debian.