Purchase AoE2 DE. Steam or Microsoft?

Age of Empires II: DE II - Discussion
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Hi There.
I’d like to buy AoE2 DE. I haven’t played this game in ages, since I was a kid… and I do not usually play PC games nowadasys, so I’m a bit lost here.

Which is the difference getting it from Steam or Microsoft? Isn’t the game the same?
Could someone clarify what would be the better option? Getting it from Steam, or from Microsoft?

Thank you!

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Steam. More convenient options for playing with friends, and as far as I know, the interface is better. I’ve never used Microsoft Store, though, so that’s just my uninformed opinion.

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I’d recommend Steam mainly due to two reasons:

  • Access to the Public Update Preview (= a open beta build usually available shortly before an update)
  • Access to the CaptureAge tool (= a spectator tool that allows you to view your games and provides more stats than the ingame spectator. It also allows you to fully zoom in and out)
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Thank you both for your answers. Very useful.
I’ll probably go with Steam.
Cheers!

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Microsoft Store has simpler interface. Steam has more functionality.

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I have AoE1DE on the Microsoft store and AoE2DE on Steam, and in my view, Steam is better in every respect.

With the Microsoft store there’s no transparency about where the game files are stored – it hides them away in folders that have cryptic names and are heavily protected so you can’t access them properly. If you want to have any control over where the game is installed, where game files are stored, or you want to do any modding, the Microsoft store is useless.

Steam gives you much more control and is much more transparent, but it’s no harder to use.

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Hiding files is what makes it simpler. Similar to how Android works. It doesn’t allow you to tinker game files.

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Thanks for the feedbacks.
Well, I prefer having the control. I can decide not to modify anything and keep everything simple… but also have the option to do it if I want.
After reading all, I’m going with Steam for sure.

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On PC you may precisely want to do that, why not have this option easily available ?

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MS Store is straightforward solution to avoid accidentally deleting game files and to ensure that antivirus or other software doesn’t interfere with them.

In Steam, you need to launch the game after opening Steam, which requires you to manage updates separately. In contrast, with the Microsoft Store, the game starts automatically with Windows and requires just a single click to launch.

Steam itself is a separate headache, sometimes it’s server is blocked on some WiFi in hotel /office (being a gaming / marketing website). But microsoft is never blocked.

Also with MS Store version you have the added advantage of switching to XBOX without the need to repurchase if you go for it in future.

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Good choice. I have both. Bought the MS store version first, came to regret it, then repurchased the Steam version for the reasons mentioned by others above. Plus the Steam version just works better (at least on my Win10 system). Right now I can’t open the Store version–tried to troubleshoot it for about 15 minutes then gave up since I don’t need it. Have had this problems several times in the past. Never had problems with Steam. Pretty straightforward too, updates are handled automatically (like the Store version–when it works!).

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Steam has an option to verify game files and repair them if need be. No need to worry about that.

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