Buy from ms store?

I’m planning to buy the standard edition from the store, but before doing so I have a question:
I’d like to know if the Gaming Services app is necessary.
I had an issue with it in the past and since then I haven’t been able to make it work.
I’ve tried everything and always gives me an error when I try to install it.
Until then I was on gamepass.
Thanks

Id recommend the Steam-Version. You dont have to worry about all the MS-Apps like Xbox, Gaming services and the sub-optimal MS Store. Also you dont get encrypted game-files and you can use 3rd party apps like ReShade if you want to, what is not possible on the MS-Store version.

Besides Gamepass, there is no reason to buy it on the MS-Store. Unless you want to play it also on an Xbox.

1 Like

You can use Gamepass;
Microsoft Flight Simulator Lands on Xbox Series X|S and with Xbox Game Pass on July 27 - Microsoft Flight Simulator

Thanks a lot for your advices.
What about instant gaming?
Do you think it is worth it or I could get into trouble.

Yes

Run windows update and click “check for updates”.

image

Updates an issue that might redirect you to the Microsoft Store page for Gaming Services when you try to install or start an Xbox Game Pass game on your Windows 10 device.

Source https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/june-11-2021-kb5004476-os-builds-19041-1055-19042-1055-and-19043-1055-out-of-band-e12f58c7-4ceb-4d24-adfb-b13820f4e86b

edit

Smth important about steam
https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/ok-so-why-has-my-msfs-deleted-itself/304797

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/stutters-low-fps-and-lost-path/408034/17

1 Like

I wouldn’t bother using the GamePass version as it installs and never runs.

Smth is wrong with your system account (login) or system settings not with msfs :wink:

1 Like

Funny you should say that. As within minutes of posting my last comment and logging into Zendesk, to hammer out a ticket, the launcher is now working. So yeah, there were credential issues but not anything that makes any sense. Except after logging into zendesk, there is a new entry in credential manager for windows live.

Anyway. I’m awaiting the 80gig download so I can start experiencing some real crashes. :woozy_face:

1 Like

Topic moved to General Discussion #community:general-discussion-feedback

You really should change the thread title if that’s possible. Your question doesn’t fit the title you used which sounds more like a directive anyway.

You have several threads asking the same. The more recent one I found (and participate into):

If you want to play it on Xbox at some point, you have to buy it in the MS Store, no way around it.

Other than that, I don’t see any advantages of using the MS Store, and a couple of disadvantages such as:

  • hidden/protected folders that keep you from accessing the files of your purchases,
  • no easy way to move install files to a different disk (this only applies to the 1GB of base files, the largest part of the installation is handled indepently by MSFS)
  • weird issues with the store, error messages that defy all logic…
    Didn’t experience any of this in more than 10 years using Steam.

Marketplace purchases are encrypted for steam users as well.
The only part different are the 1GB base game executables, the rest is basically identical in terms of read/write access.

That’s why I wrote “this only applies to the 1 GB of base file” :wink: anyway, still it’s more of a hassle than the way Steam handles this…

Yes, you’re right, in-game marketplace purchases are always encrypted in MSFS.

Anyway, in the 1 month I used MSFS with gamepass I had more weird issues than in all my time on Steam. If you already are a Steam user and you aren’t interested in flying on Xbox, there’s no good reason to buy it in the MS Store.

Nonsense.

Really? Didn’t see that, I had to move the whole MS Store files folder to a different drive (or so I thought)… If this can be done for each game individually, I stand corrected.

When I moved the MS Store installation folder to a different drive, there still was a folder I couldn’t delete it by simply granting admin rights, I had to dig deeply into the access permissions to get rid of it. Hate it when this happens, when software thinks it needs more control of your computer than normal software.

I’ve had no issues with the MS Store version at all. No weird errors, no gaming services problems, no installation issues where it expects me to download the entire sim all over again.

My rationale at the time was not even about the XBox, it was simply why go through an intermediary like Valve when I can get it direct from the source, MS?

Yep

Sorry, that was my personal experience, and I didn’t have any issues with Steam whatsoever

1 Like

The only issue I’ve had, on several occasions, are the slow downloads of content during updates. On one occasion it was so bad I had to use a VPN to get around it. But I think that would have been the case regardless of the platform as that was the sim downloading, not the DRM.