Not all Game Pass exclusives perform equally well. While reviewers criticized S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl for various bugs, it pales in comparison to the issues surrounding another recent release: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, which launched on November 19 and has received "mostly negative" user reviews due to numerous technical problems.

Despite MSFS being a relatively niche series, Microsoft's servers couldn't handle the load, leaving many players unable even to download the new installment. In MSFS 2024, most of the game's client downloads occur not through Steam but directly within the game. According to reviews, during the installation process, mouse controls are unavailable, leaving players to rely solely on controllers.

With servers malfunctioning, many users waited hours to download the 50GB client. Since the download process counts as "playtime" in Steam, many players found themselves unable to request refunds.

Even after the client was installed, issues persisted. Players reported being stuck in endless queues. Additionally, some encountered bugs in the character creation screen, where icon glitches forced players to click blindly to navigate the menu.

Although peak player numbers barely reached 25,000, it was enough to cause a collapse. Now that peak activity has dropped to about a third of the original figure, some players are finally able to play. However, the frustration has left a bitter taste, as reflected in the mostly negative Steam reviews.

Main image: wallpapercave.com

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