Microsoft Flight Simulator is specifically designed to celebrate flight simulation fans through a focus on the authenticity of flying and visually stunning environments.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is the next generation of one of the most beloved simulation franchises. From light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and stunning aircraft in an incredibly realistic world. Create your flight plan and fly anywhere on the planet. Enjoy flying day or night and face realistic, challenging weather conditions.

By revamping our tech, working in close collaboration with the community and pursuing the best partnerships across the industry, we intend to deliver the best-in-class flight simulation experience.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is the fastest growing entry over the franchise’s 38-year history to reach over 2 million pilots.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is Microsoft’s longest running franchise with a history of 38 years, and we are proud to announce that the latest entry is the fastest to grow to over 2 million pilots. This was possible thanks to the incredible community of fans, real-world pilots, flight enthusiasts, and virtual travelers who have embraced the new simulation since its arrival on August 18 and made it the biggest game launch in Xbox Game Pass for PC history. On behalf of the entire team, a huge thank you to all the fans who have taken to the skies and are exploring our world while discovering the magic of flight with us.

The community have piloted more than 50 million flights and have logged more than 3.5 billion miles flown to date – the equivalent of flying 19 times roundtrip from the Earth to the Sun, or around the world over 400 thousand times. It’s been humbling to see the positive reactions to Microsoft Flight Simulator and we feel incredibly fortunate and blessed to have such a highly engaged community that continually helps us improve the simulation with their ongoing and insightful feedback. We are also so energized by the community of creators who have already embraced our SDK and developed over 500 airports, aircraft, and other add-ons in the short few months since launch. The quality of work, knowledge and passion on display from creators is an inspiration to our team every day.

Winning “Best Sim / Strategy 2020” at The Game Awards a last week was such an honor as well. The team is extremely proud that we have been able to follow the storied history of previous Microsoft Flight Simulator titles that received such accolades, and we feel humbled to be selected from the amazing group of games that were nominated for this award.

As a thank you to all of you – die-hard simmers and newcomers to flight simulation alike – we are pleased to announce that we are preparing a few surprises alongside the VR update launching on December 22. Everyone will receive a unique Microsoft Flight Simulator-themed livery for the entire launch plane fleet and simmers will be able to fly with the same cute dog-themed liveries that Rufus and Sam flew in their Pitts Special. Finally, given the time of year, the update will add real-time snow and true-to-life ice coverage to the entire planet.

We are planning 3 large updates to the simulation, and we will update the world 4-5 times with additional World Updates (as well as a few other surprises we have planned).

Key Features:

• Vivid and Detailed Landscapes – Immerse yourself in the vast and beautiful world that is our planet with more than 37 thousand airports, 1.5 billion buildings, 2 trillion trees, mountains, roads, rivers and more.
• A Living World – Earth is vibrant and ever-changing and so is the world of Microsoft Flight Simulator which includes live traffic, real-time weather and animals.  
• Highly Detailed Aircraft – Hone your pilot skills in a variety of aircraft from light planes to commercial jets with comprehensive flight models. Every aircraft includes highly detailed and accurate cockpits with realistic instrumentation.
• New Checklist System – From pro to beginner, scale your level from full manual to full assist with interactive and highlighted instrument guidance and checklist.
• Dynamic Weather – The new weather engine enables users to switch on the live weather mode to experience real-time weather including accurate wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity, rain and more.
• New Day & Night Engine – Experience flight at any time of day or year allowing for night VFR, visual flight rules, navigation.
• Aerodynamic Modeling – A 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 for PC (Xbox Game Pass), and coming to Xbox One in 2021.