Microsoft Flight Simulator Launches August 18 on PC
- Paul Thurrott
- Jul 13, 2020
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Microsoft announced today that it will launch Flight Simulator on August 18 for PC and on Xbox Game Pass for PC. Gamers can preorder the title now on Windows 10 or pre-install the game via Xbox Game Pass.
“We have been thrilled and humbled by the support and dedication that has fueled the Flight Sim community for the past 38 years,” Microsoft’s Jorg Neumann writes. “Since the launch of the very first Microsoft Flight Simulator in 1982, we knew it was finally the right time to develop the next-generation version of Microsoft Flight Simulator. We have the right tools, technology, partners, and hardware to release the most realistic and authentic flight simulator to date.”
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The new Flight Simulator includes a vast and beautiful world with more than 1.5 billion buildings and 2 trillion trees, mountains, roads, rivers, and more; live traffic, real-time weather and animals; highly detailed and accurate cockpits with realistic instrumentation; an interactive and highlighted instrument guidance and checklist; dynamic weather; day and night flights at any time of day or year; and a new state-of-the-art physics engine with over 1,000 control surfaces per plane allows for a truly realistic experience.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is available in three editions:
Microsoft Flight Simulator Standard Edition costs $59.99 and includes 20 highly detailed planes with unique flight models and 30 hand-crafted airports. This is the version that is available via Game Pass.
Microsoft Flight Simulator Deluxe Edition costs $89.99 and includes everything from Standard Edition plus five additional highly accurate planes with unique flight models and five additional handcrafted international airports.
Microsoft Flight Simulator Premium Deluxe Edition costs $119.99 and includes everything from Standard Edition plus 10 additional highly accurate planes with unique flight models and 10 additional handcrafted international airports.