Where to get MSFS

[TrentXWB]

Hi all,

I have been on P3D and wanting to try MSFS and now steam is having a sale but I dont know which platform to get it? Should I go to Steam or Microsoft store which also has a sale now? Which of the 2 platfroms offer the fastest update and simplicity?
Thanks

[ryanbatc]

I have it on Microsoft store but if I had to do it all over again it would be on Steam.  

[DD_Arthur]

What he said...👍

[Brandon01110]

steam without a doubt.  history has shown updates to be easier and less hassle.

[RichieFly]

And, it's 20% off on Steam right now.

[fppilot]

23 minutes ago, Brandon01110 said:

steam without a doubt.  history has shown updates to be easier and less hassle.

I agree with that for the first year.  Update process with the MS Store/xBox version has finally settled in after over a year of total frustration when updating.  It has been easy recently. 

Another consideration I realized is that if you purchase from one source and later decide to migrate to the other source you will likely lose the licensing for payware products you purchased and installed for the first source, forcing you to repurchase them.  And that may not, I say may not, be limited to just those add on products purchased from the MS Store. You can purchase addons for either MSFS source from Marketplace, and some products are only available on Marketplace.  So you need to be comfortable with which MSFS source you choose, MS Store or Steam. 

For that reason today it would be Steam for me.  No question.  Be confident you are purchasing only once!

[TrentXWB]

Thanks all. 

When I buy 3rd party addon like Flightbeam, Orbx, FlyTampa; does it matter whether I buy my MSFS on Steam or MS store?

[Tuskin38]

10 minutes ago, TrentXWB said:

Thanks all. 

When I buy 3rd party addon like Flightbeam, Orbx, FlyTampa; does it matter whether I buy my MSFS on Steam or MS store?

They work on both versions equally as long as you buy them from their stores and not the in-sim marketplace.

[fppilot]

10 minutes ago, TrentXWB said:

Thanks all. 

When I buy 3rd party addon like Flightbeam, Orbx, FlyTampa; does it matter whether I buy my MSFS on Steam or MS store?

Not certain how that plays out if you later change your MSFS installation from one to the other. But if you go the current consensus safer route then it does not become a factor.

 

[Tuskin38]

2 minutes ago, fppilot said:

Not certain how that plays out if you later change your MSFS installation from one to the other. But if you so the current consensus safer route then it does not become a factor.

 

Back before they did Sim Update testing on steam, I had the MS Store and Steam versions sharing the same community folder via a symbolic link in windows. Worked fine.

[Fielder]

The one advantage of buying from MS store is that your purchases are also valid on the Xbox version of MSFS. So if you or your family has an Xbox console and might want to add MSFS on it some day, then you would save money by avoiding going through Steam.

[TrentXWB]

How about if I bought my MSFS on Steam, can I buy stuff from MS market place?

[Alvega]

4 minutes ago, TrentXWB said:

How about if I bought my MSFS on Steam, can I buy stuff from MS market place?

Yes, you can.

[Tuskin38]

13 minutes ago, TrentXWB said:

How about if I bought my MSFS on Steam, can I buy stuff from MS market place?

Note that if you decide to switch to MS Store version later for whatever reason, you won't have those purchases.

[TrentXWB]

Thanks all