Hello again,
I’ve got a Steam account - and a Microsoft account, so could buy from either - Is there any difference between the two?
It would be preferable if this title could be downloaded - With an executable installation file that can be backed up - Instead of downloading and installing but not having the EXE file at the end of the download process
Is this possible?
A little discussion on this would be great - Thanks
You will find enough opinions about this here in the forum and in other FS forums. Here are a few from this forum:
more: Search results for 'Steam vs MS-Store' - Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums
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You can save the entire download. But after each sim and world update it becomes useless. The MSFS is basically built like an MMO. You load the launcher with Steam/MS-Store, then you start the launcher in Steam/Ms-Store and the launcher loads the whole content of the MSFS.
The MSFS is a service game and will be intensively maintained for the next 10 years. An installer would become obsolete too quickly. There is also the MSFS as a DVD version, but even this version must meanwhile download the entire content again.
Hello there,
Thanks for the links - It seems Steam is good and I have a Steam account.
Please clarify what an MMO is?
The reason I ask about saving the down is is because they take such a long time to download so downloading once only has to be achieved.
Using an image / clone / backup program like Macrium Reflect it would be possible to get a complete backup of a “certain version” that works well - These can then be re-deployed if need be - It would save time / stress / hassle etc…]
If I get MSFS today -If there was an update that is particularly good such as SU5 - Would it be possible for me to pick and choose which updates were installed? - Even if they are a little out of date?
Reason for asking is that I’ve read that an update has arrived and people all of a sudden have a “worse version” for smooth operation - This has been mentioned by others - So, please just a little info. here then I’ll stop asking - Thanks
You can backup the conent easily enough, that’s what takes the most time to download. No difference between MS and Steam in that respect.
Hello @Roland101,
The only difference between the Steam and Microsoft Store versions is that if you purchase Flight Simulator from the MS Store then it will also allow you to play MSFS on Xbox Series X|S at no additional charge. Additionally, all Marketplace purchases made on PC will carry over to your Xbox account and vice versa. If you purchase the Steam version, you will be locked to PC-only and Marketplace purchases are not cross-platform. If you are 100% confident that you will never play MSFS on Xbox, then there is no difference at all between the MS Store and Steam versions for PC.
Negative. Due to the way MSFS is designed, it is not possible to downgrade to a previous version. Upon launching the app, you will be prompted to install the latest update.
Thanks,
MSFS Team
Dont buy on steam , independent of that platform is better , just had an issue with steam if in there couldn’t run sim !
You had a problem on the Steam version - What was the problem where you couldn’t run the SIM? - Hopefully problems get sorted quickly!
If you search this forum about update problems you will find that in 90+% of all cases people have problems with the MS Store version (I am referring to PC only, not XBox).
Why that is I can‘t say, but most often the update simply doesn‘t show up (which can usually be resolved by logging into an extra XBox app (?) on Windows - and/or rebooting Windows ;)).
All I can say is that I had zero, nada, niente prolems with the Steam update process, never since day one of the MSFS release (back in August 2020).
I had to re-install MSFS after around Simulation Update (SU) 5 or so - simply so because I switched the PC (well, a Mac really ;)). MSFS is installed - and successfully updated ever since.
Yes, it is an annectodical story only, but again, go search the forum for „update problem“ and the like.
I dont have sim on steam thankfully , i run independently on my pc, i had an issue with steam it would update then say dll missing , deleted steam app re dl , no joy then after another windows update , it suddenly worked , tried all the online tricks and hacks , so was pleased my sim elswhere so abel to run .
once you realize that the best thing to do if on PC is to run the Microsoft Store App every day…
click on the ‘Library’ tab in the lower left corner, then click on the ‘Get Updates’ button/tab in the upper right corner BEFORE opening MSFS - you can save yourself some headaches…
Sometimes you’ll see a ‘Gaming Services’ update, or an ‘MS Store’ update or an ‘Xbox’ update - as well as the expected MSFS update - ALL of these can affect your MSFS installation. That’s why it’s just good standard practice to run the updater every morning at least
I’ve been running this Sim on Steam from day one. Never had an issue with it.
I bought it via Microsoft Store.
The logic is simply very broken there whenever there are updates. It is unclear whether it has to be downloaded via the Store “app” (a lot of things in recent PC OS version are dumbed down to Mobile device nonsense), or you have to launch MSFS and download it from there.
Sometimes, they will prevent you from launching, saying “you need to update MSFS via the store” - and then the store, due to its jumbled console / mobile device-oriented interface, you are lost. Sometimes the store app act as if you have the latest product.
There is also problem with region settings: you cannot purchase stuff if you set it to wrong region, it will broke the marketplace, and preventing you from buying any add-on or using your credit card.
Microsoft downloader is super awful, they can progress all the way, downloading 3 GB chunks of data, and then breaks, to start all over again. You waste another 30 minutes. Why couldn’t a major software company figure out smoother downloading protocol? Steam or torrent files are much more reliable.
Steam?
It is not native, it also requires persistent internet connection to validate your games when launching. But it is a solid platform, it never breaks any download, you can pause at any time, shut down, update the Steam app, you will continue the download from the last position where you paused.
Upgrading a PC? No worries, just locate your last game download folders, and it will verify all the files, and voila, no need to redownload Terabytes of your game collections. Everything is playable after Steam figured out your PC and OS configuration. That is so unlike other game store platforms.
However, it is also useless in a way, MSFS will launch, and then you will be at the mercy of its awful content downloader function.
TL;DR:
MS Store
Good:
Bad:
Steam:
Good:
Bad:
All in all, one platform is not any better than the other. My choice is simply because of the availability situation: the game is launched through MS Store, and not yet availabe on Steam at the time.
more often the MS-Store users have issues with MSFS. you can check all the existing topics about “gaming service” ( not necessary for Steam ) and update-issues in MS-Store . All that trouble not exist for Steam users. Downside , as mentioned, steam users are limited on PC ( not a big deal for users which never plan to let run a flight-sim on a gaming-console ).
PS: @ZooMotorPool good summary 
… but in case of MSFS the “verify” not works as expected , because MSFS have its own downloader for the content. And steam not slow-down anything on your internet.
Hello everybody - Most posts than could be imagined - ! - I’ve got Steam - And have bought the game the Premium Deluxe Version - Not installed yet.
I do have an old X-BOX - But not a new one that could run MSFS - So it’ll be PC only for now - I’m sure I’ll get it working when the time comes as I’ve built machines etc…If it’s possible to get it to work I’ll do it - Especially with some forum helpers as well -
0 problems here on Steam. 90% of the problems I’ve seen people complain about on the forum here in the past 2 years were on the MS store.
I’ve had MSFS on Steam since launch. I didn’t play it too much, but I’m getting back into it. I bought it on the Microsoft Store a few weeks ago. I thought that I’d switch to the Microsoft Store because MSFS support told me that I could make use of Xbox-compatible marketplace content while using Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Cloud Gaming. MSFS support was right! Marketplace content remained installed on subsequent Cloud Gaming sessions.
Ultimately, though, I switched back to Steam. With handheld PCs gaining popularity and becoming more powerful, I’d rather play MSFS locally installed on the hardware that I’m using while on the go. I just exported my Microsoft Store installation’s logbook using Mouseviator’s Logbook Editor and I’ll be merging it with my exported Steam logbook. Also, I requested and was granted a refund from Microsoft.
I much prefer Steam’s file management process over the Microsoft Store’s file management process and getting ReShade to work in MSFS from the Microsoft Store required a workaround. Even though I got ReShade working in MSFS installed from the Microsoft Store, I could not save changed settings in the addons tab within ReShade 5.x due to the MSFS launcher files being within an encrypted folder.
From what I’ve read on these forums, the Steam install is a lot ‘tidier’ (the MS Store seems to put files all over the place) and seems to suffer from far fewer installation issues. I can only comment on how stable and reliable my Steam install has been, though don’t use the ‘verify files’ option in Steam as I found out to my regret (I had to reinstall)
a good note: see also: Steam - Verify Integrity of Game Files Deletes All Content ( we need more votes here 
)
Now that’s an ‘app’ that I’d dearly love to remove from my Windows 10 PC! 