FSX: Steam Edition on Windows 11 shows "steam initization failed" and asks for a PIN

What you’re seeing is almost always Steam itself not completing its handshake with FSX:SE at launch. FSX:SE expects Steam to be running, you to be signed in, and Steam to be able to validate the install. If any of that fails, you can get the (misspelled) "steam initization failed" message.

The PIN part is separate: on Windows 11, if you’re signing into Windows with a Microsoft account, Windows often defaults to a PIN for sign-in. Steam can also prompt for a “Steam Guard” code when you sign in on a new PC. So first we need to nail down which PIN/code you’re actually being asked for.

Step-by-step things to try

1) Make sure Steam is installed and you’re fully signed in

1. Close FSX completely.
2. Open Steam (not FSX).
3. Confirm you are signed into your Steam account and you can see your Library.
4. If Steam is asking for a code/PIN, complete that first (that’s usually Steam Guard on a new machine).
5. Once you’re fully signed in, launch FSX:SE from inside Steam (Library -> FSX: Steam Edition -> Play).

2) Run Steam once “as Administrator” (just to test permissions)

1. Exit Steam completely (Steam menu -> Exit).
2. Right-click the Steam shortcut -> Run as administrator.
3. Try launching FSX:SE again from the Steam Library.

If this fixes it, we can tidy it up later (sometimes it’s an install location / permissions issue).

3) Verify FSX:SE files in Steam

1. In Steam Library, right-click “FSX: Steam Edition”
2. Go to Properties, then look for “Installed Files” (or similar) and run “Verify integrity of game files”.
3. After it completes, try launching again.

4) Avoid launching FSX outside of Steam while testing
If you’re starting FSX from a desktop shortcut that points to fsx.exe, try not to for the moment. For troubleshooting, always start it from Steam so the Steam overlay/DRM handshake happens correctly.

5) Check whether Windows “Controlled folder access” is blocking it
Windows 11 security can block older apps from writing where they expect, which can cause weird startup failures.

1. Temporarily disable “Controlled folder access” (or add Steam/FSX as allowed) and test.

(If you tell me where you installed Steam/FSX, I can be more specific here.)

A couple of targeted questions so we don’t chase the wrong “PIN”

1. When the PIN request appears, does it say Steam Guard, Windows Hello, Microsoft account, or something else? (Exact wording helps a lot.)
2. Are you able to log into Steam normally on this laptop (without launching FSX), and do you see your game library?
3. How are you launching FSX right now: from Steam Library, a desktop icon, or by double-clicking fsx.exe?
4. Where is Steam installed (default under Program Files, or a custom drive/folder)?

Answer those and we can zero in quickly—this is usually one of those “Steam not fully logged in / blocked by security / launched outside Steam” cases.