Migrating MSFS 2020/24 to Linux?

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1

Greetings!

Problem 1:
Windows 10 is EOL, and even with the extended support option, its days are numbered.

Problem 2:
I have absolutely NO desire whatsoever to upgrade, (actually downgrade!), to Windows 11 for more reasons than three.

Problem 3:
I have already purchased the full-up, super-deluxe versions of both 2000 and 2024 from the Microsoft Store, and have a considerable investment in aircraft and scenery. I am assuming that if I purchase a Steam version, none of this will migrate. (or maybe it will?)

As a consequence of problem 1 above, I am currently exploring a migration to Linux Mint 23. So far I have migrated about 99% of my current Windows workflow to Linux, either by installing the Linux version of the program, (like X-Plane or Moneydance), a functional equivelent, (like Libre Office), encapsulated it as a Fire Fox Web App, (like WhatsApp), or installed it within Wine, (like Notepad++).

I am considering two possible options:

  1. Installing Steam, (done), updating graphics drivers, (done), and purchasing the Steam version.
  2. Somehow or other installing MSFS 20/24 on my Linux system directly or via a compatibility layer like Wine or Proton, (which is a Wine clone).

This leads to the following questions:

  1. Has anyone successfully migrated MSFS from Windows to Linux?
  2. What’s the best way to do that?
  3. If I do, especially if I install via Steam, will I loose everything?

I still have a dedicated Win-10 system that I am currently using for MSFS, but I’d rather not be stuck in that ecosystem if possible.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Jim

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MSFS 2024 on Linux through Steam Proton
My MSFS migration to Linux Mint
2

i will abandon win 10 too soon and migrate to linux !

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3

I am tempted to mark this as the “solution”.
:wink:
:rofl:

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4

A search of “Linux” will display a number of posts that may help you. e.g.:

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5

. . . . but what happens to my original purchases?

As far as I could see, they say “I did it and it works”, but it doesn’t talk in detail how they did it, or the impact on existing purchases.

6

Well, you could post and ask them…

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7

I did that first, and. . . .

That’s what I thought I was doing here.

Instead of hijacking their thread or posting hidden DMs that don’t help anyone else, I posted a public question asking for specific details.

How is that not correct?

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9

The problem, as I see it, is that this would represent an additional purchase that is a non-trivial expense, especially if I migrate the same edition of both games. (i.e. The super-dooper deluxe premium versions.)

My understanding is that the Steam version of the game is an entirely separate universe, it installs differently, and never the twain shall meet.

I really don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars without some understanding of what will, and what won’t, transfer.

And it’s not the money per se, it’s the potential for tossing it down the toilet with no recourse if things go sideways.

BTW, I noticed on the Steam page for the game that there is a modest forum, some of which might be relevant to installing on Linux.

11

Does anyone have any experience with addons that require external programs to run, like the Fenix, Ifly or Maddog? Do they work with wine?

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13

Nothing wrong with creating this topic, but the folks who have Linux & created those topics - and so might have an answer for you - may not read or even see this thread. :slightly_smiling_face:

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14

  1. Yes, I’m doing this right now, running it since last week.

  2. What you said - steam version, installs directly, runs fine without any real modification needed (YMMV). I had to buy it again as well, glad I did.

    Then, you may need to tweak depending on your hardware.

  3. I had to

    1. Add a udev rule for my Honeycomb Bravo.
    2. Add this to my Steam config (Right click the game, go to properties, General, then Launch Options) → PROTON_ENABLE_HIDRAW=0x294b/0x1901 %command%
    3. Then the Bravo worked fine. Your hardware will have a different ID (the 0x294/0x1901 bit), but ask Gemini or your favorite Ai for help. This one they can easily do (don’t ask about Fenix.. it will mess up your PC with “help”)

  4. Regarding addons

    1. All addons that are simply in the community folder and don’t run .exe’s worked fine first shot. I haven’t tested all 600 GB of addons I have, but they are all working as far as I can see
    2. Addons that run exes depend on
      1. Is the addon simply reading data using SimConnect (Fsltl) or FSUIPC (APLv2)? In that case, it can run with minimal config (have to change stuff in SimConnect, FSUIPC works out of the box). Some work fine (FSLTL), others (APLv2) need tweaking. But they do work.
      2. Is the addon writing to the sim (Fenix, etc). This is harder, but it is possible. I haven’t got Fenix running yet, but I know other people have. Likewise with BATC (It runs, but can’t talk to the sim yet), and GSX (this does work!)
    3. Addon installers (SimMarket, PMDG OC3, Fenix installer, OrbX, Contrail) all work fine and install as per normal)

  5. You do not lose anything that I can see. All my Marketplace purchases carried over and were working right from the get go. External addons needed copying/installation, but they worked fine as well (with the exceptions above)

After a few days, here’s where I stand.

On CachyOS, MSFS is super smooth. Much smoother than on Windows 11 on the same PC hardware (wiped Windows totally). Everything internal to the sim (Marketplace, native planes/sceneries) works flawlessly. No issues whatsoever. Hardware (Sidewinder ForceFeedback 2 worked instantly, Bravo needed quick config) depends, but generally most non-esoteric stuff should work.

Getting rid of Windows has worked out well so far. If the only thing is that I lose some stuff that is an external exe, I’m not too fussed. For what I do, 95% is working even better than Windows. The remaining 5% can be fixed over time, given that more and more people are looking into this. Fenix does run with tweaking (not yet for me, haven’t gone deep into though), GSX works, APL can be made to work etc. If I have to choose between dropping Fenix (say) and going back to Windows.. bye bye Fenix!

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15

I will say that you need to be somewhat motivated to do this.. if this is the FIRST time you’re using linux, I would stick to MSFS 2024 + Marketplace + simpler addons (no exes) + simple hardware. You should have a great experience.

If you want to level up and go nuts.. you can. But for now, I would say people with a general ability to read guides online, tinker a bit, try stuff out.. will do fine. If you want an appliance type system with zero tweaking or this stuff is too complex (it IS complex.. don’t feel bad), then PS5 is a great choice - obviously it has limitations, but it is really simple to use.

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16

This isn’t my first rodeo, :wink:, as I’ve been using some form of 'nix since the later 90’s, starting with AT&T Unix on a wind-up PC. (and it was on a floppy. A real 5.25" floppy)

In general:
I’ve been considering making the switch in general for a while, but there have been pieces of software in Windows that have just been too valuable for my workflow to give up, Finally, things like Wine and the creation of webapps has become mature enough, (not requiring a Ph.D. in rocket science), to work with minimal trouble. I created a webapp in Firefox for WhatsApp and Notepad++ runs nicely in a “Wine bottle” (:rofl:), and I appreciate not having to run a full-blown emulator to do simple task. Even the one or two things that still require compiling from source have become reasonably easy, assuming you can read, follow instructions, and aren’t totally afraid of the command-line.

Also, the world at large is beginning to recognize that Linux exists for more than just techno-geeks, so more and more software is making the plunge.

MSFS in particular:
One of the big hold-ups was my flight sims. (I have a separate machine for simming.)

I made the jump from 7 to 10 just to support MSFS, (IMHO, Windows peaked at 7), and though I haven’t tried 11, the wailing and gnashing of teeth has been loud enough that I have no desire to play that game. (IMHO, Win-11 is Vista all over again.)

Another big, BIG hold up - and it may be a deal-breaker for many - is the fact that I had to re-buy the sims all over again - at full retail - to run them in Steam. Over $300 USD to re-purchase the same versions I had before in the Marketplace since I wanted an apples-to-apples comparison.

Another concern was my Marketplace content - I have a lot of add-on scenery, especially by rkbridger, (<= shameless plug, he’s good), and Drezwici Designs, (<= also excellent), that I was loathe to loose. It turns out that, nowadays, the marketplace content isn’t bound to the platform, but the Microsoft ID, so everything came over seamlessly.

I haven’t tried external content yet, but the folks at PMDG have been very supportive and say that my DC-6 will just drag-and-plop into my 2020 Community folder.

I’m still downloading content into 2024, so I haven’t been able to play it yet. But! It hasn’t crashed my machine to the BIOS every time I look at it cross-eyed, so I’m ahead of the game there.

My Saitek X52 controller has been a bit of a challenge, but I found a Linux driver for it. (the one thing I had to compile from source as the .deb installer didn’t work) Once that was done I was able to calibrate it and get it working.

AntimicroX has a native runtime and I use that for button-bindings to keyboard commands in both environments.

Flies that remain in the ointment:
Startup is still a challenge.

My MSFS-2024 startup screen looks like a color TV test pattern until after everything loads and loading takes a LOOONG time. Eventually it does load, but everything before the main menu is color-bars.

Viz.:

Screenshot at 2026-03-03 02-12-32
Screenshot at 2026-03-03 02-12-321920Ă—1200 71.4 KB

Also, I don’t know how to install MSFS-2024’s downloadable content to an external drive as my attempts to attach another ext4 formatted drive in Steam have all failed.

The problem is that the virtualized Windows environment in Steam doesn’t allow me to see hidden files/folders and I’ve hard-mounted my new drive over /Community/MSFS2024 because I can’t attach it directly to Steam, but the downloaded content is downloaded to /appdata/Roaming/Packages.

Until then I can’t run MSFS-2024 because my primary Linux drive doesn’t have enough room for both.

17

I created a separate folder in my home folder and I am reinstalling there.

We will see what happens.

18

Change the Proton version to GE-Proton. I’m using 10-32, and this issue is fixed.

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19

This shouldn’t be an issue. If you have your drive mounted, you should be able to access your entire / partition under Z: inside wine. I have a partition mounted, and inside MSFS, I was able to simply change the folder name for community to Z:\home\username\newfolder. where new folder is another drive partition mounted permanently here.

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This is what I see:

Steam_Compatibility
Steam_Compatibility849Ă—721 48.5 KB

I do not see a “GE-Proton” and the latest one I see is 10.0-4.

21

Ahhh!

I downloaded and installed it, now the video works.
:man_facepalming:

22

Cool. Yeah, it’s a process.. going through slowly, trying out different options and so forth. I am overall quite pleased though, this is definitely doable. Of course it’s not as easy as running on Windows, but I’ve reached the point with Windows where I will just not use stuff that’s Windows only. For a game like this, I can live without it if it truly didn’t work.

It mostly does though! Getting it to this point was not that hard for me, and I have basically everything I really want running except for the Fenix.. and there are plenty of A320s around so it’s not a dealbreaker.

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23

Issue:

I need to be able to calibrate the joysticks in Mint in some way that Steam will see and use the corrected/calibrated values.