Arch-based? KDE Plasma? There might happen a real "year of desktop Linux", in a way. That is, a Linux desktop that sneaks in as a side dish, but maybe gains some non-zero traction, and bringing FOSS to more people who are not engineers.

SteamOS on Steam Deck has been running Arch-based immutable distro since 2022. KDE can be started but by default it runs a Big Picture mode of Steam in gamescope.

"I’m on the record saying, that maybe Valve will actually save the Linux desktop. And it’s actually not because I think games are important! I don't care, I don't play games. I think some people do, so games maybe important. But the really important issue is I guarantee you Valve will not make 15 different binaries. And I also guarantee you that every single desktop distribution will care about Valve binaries." – Linus Torvalds in 2014

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzl1B7nB9Kc&t=310s

AI + Games is the killer app for Linux on the <everything>. You can make a beast of a gaming PC that also happens to be a beast of a local inference system, and that local inference system can manage the system for you, so grandma won't have to worry about the shell ever again.

I've been using Linux instead of Windows for over a decade now. If Linux exploded in popularity I would be afraid enshitification and monetization would kick in super quickly. FOSS can't dominate the market. The market won't allow it. They will find a way to exploit it. This is just a fear based on generalizations. Perhaps it is misguided.