Question Regarding Purchasing on Steam

[Ludl0w]

Greetings!

 

I originally purchased IL2: Battle of Stalingrad on Steam about 3 years ago. It was the first game to really get me into the series, and the first to get me into flight simming in general. When I had purchased it on Steam, I didn't even know that you could purchase it standalone through the IL2: Great Battles website, nor did I even know it existed. I certainly didn't know that the game would even come with its own launcher, where you could launch the original game, as well as all of the other additions / expansions to the game you'd later purchase. Ever since I purchased BOS on Steam, i've purchased every other addition / expansion through the Great Battles website, to ensure 100% of my money goes to the developers.

 

So here's my question: I would like to use the standalone launcher, and not have Steam be a part of the launch process for IL2: Great Battles. Knowing I didn't purchase BOS through the Great Battles website, will I still be able to launch BOS specifically through the standalone launcher? Also, is there any penalty (other than me not having the BOS banner on my profile) for not having purchased it through the Great Battles website?