Those eagerly awaiting the return of Microsoft Flight Simulator won't have long to wait now. First announced during Microsoft's E3 2019 conference, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the latest in a long line of prestige flying games that take things very seriously. Developed this time out by Asobo Studio (The Crew 2, A Plague Tale: Innocence), Microsoft Flight Simulator promises a 4K vision of flying only imagined by the would-be pilots launching off heavily pixilated runways back in 1982.

Since its first release, Microsoft continued a steady pattern of new games that stopped around the time they launched the Xbox 360. With their gaming strategy seemingly fully focused on consoles, Microsoft Flight Simulator fans were left without a home for over a decade. There was Microsoft Flight, a 2012 release that tied into the ill-fated Games for Windows – Live platform, but it lasted as a free to play experience all of four months before its inevitable crash landing. Now that Microsoft has a PC version of their Game Pass subscription and a renewed push to support gaming on PC, it only makes sense to return to the skies with one of their signature franchises.

In a new pre-order launch trailer, Xbox Game Studios confirms that Microsoft Flight Simulator will be landing on PCs everywhere on August 18, 2020. There are three versions available, starting with a $60 standard edition that's included with Xbox Game Pass for PC and going up to a $90 Deluxe Edition and a $120 Premium Deluxe package. The more expensive versions feature additional airplanes and airports, all as handcrafted and highly detailed as the content included in the base game. The terrain pilots flyover will also be highly detailed, but in a different way, as the developers are using Bing Maps to create lifelike locales from all over the world.


While there was an Xbox One version of the game talked about in its initial reveal, there's no word as to when that will release. It's possible that the version is instead being prepared for a release as an Xbox Series X launch title. There also isn't a Steam release of the game in the hopper as of yet, although that could change as launch approaches. For now, players will be able to preload the game on Game Pass for PC through the Windows 10 Xbox app. Players can also pre-order the game on the Microsoft Store. In both cases, its worth noting that the game will eat up a massive chunk of hard drive space due to its luscious visuals.

The Microsoft Flight Simulator launch trailer shows the magnificence of the game's graphics and the calming tone that captured the imagination of those who saw the initial reveal. While the series will never be in the top sellers or inspire the fandom that other blockbusters have, not every release needs to be that bombastic. When Microsoft Flight Simulator was still coming out decades ago, games used to have a lot more variety in their releases, with some aiming for goals other than taking over the world. Microsoft Flight Simulator harkens back to that simpler time, hopefully acting as a precursor to a Microsoft that has the games to back up its incredible subscription service in the next generation.