Microsoft Flight lands on Steam

Microsoft has ditched Games for Windows Live exclusivity for its free-to-play Flight game, which has just arrived on Steam.

The downloadable PC title – which uses a microtransactions payment model – launched on February 29th exclusively on Games for Windows Live. Now it’s available on Steam for free, including several paid-for content packs.

The Hawaiian Starter Bundle has just entered the Steam Top Ten today, which is priced at 21.99 and includes extra locations, missions and planes for Flight. These can also be purchased individually – the Hawaiian Adventure is 14.99, the Maule M-7-260C is 9.99 and the North American P-51 Mustang is 5.99.

Microsoft caused a stir when it blocked third-party publishers from selling extra content in Microsoft Flight. These companies, such as Mastertronic and Contact Sales, have traditionally done so in past Flight Simulator games.

But allowing third parties to build content for MS Flight would create a ‘confusing mess’ for new customers, Microsoft said.

Flight’s executive producer Joshua Howard previously told MCV in an interview he would be open to bringing Flight to other platforms.

It’ll be launching for Games for Windows Live and as any developer, we look at other places that might make sense for the franchise moving forward,” he said. The future is the future and we’ll see.”