The free Top Gun: Maverick expansion for Microsoft Flight Simulator is now scheduled to hit PC and Xbox later this month, Xbox announced. Microsoft revealed Flight Simulator's Top Gun DLC nearly a year ago during Xbox's and Bethesda's joint E3 2021 games showcase. The exciting news featured at the tail end of a gameplay trailer for the simulation game's console version, though details were made scarce.

Many may recall that Top Gun's Microsoft Flight Simulator experience originally bore a fall 2021 due date, having been scheduled to launch alongside the film's theatrical release in November. Paramount Pictures postponed the theatrical run, however, citing concerns about a surge in coronavirus cases at the time. As a result, the Flight Simulator DLC similarly faded into the background. Developer Asobo Studio has kept players busy with other content releases, though. November saw the production team roll out Flight Simulator's Air Race expansion, for example, complete with authentic recreations of several world-famous racing aircraft.

Related: Microsoft Flight Simulator Will Add Helicopters In 2022

Yesterday, May 9, Xbox confirmed the long-awaited Top Gun: Maverick content will finally come to Microsoft Flight Simulator towards the end of this month on Wednesday, May 25 - two days ahead of the film's arrival in theaters. As of writing, concrete information about what exactly the free DLC will entail remains unknown. While waiting for official details to emerge, fans can create their own call sign by visiting the Top Gun-dedicated website linked in the Twitter post below. (It's worth noting that completing the process requires a functioning webcam.) The announcement from Xbox reads as follows:

The wait for Microsoft Flight Simulator's Top Gun: Maverick DLC is nearly at an end. As such, news about what the expansion includes should surface in the coming days. Gameplay footage of the new content in action has also yet to make the rounds, outside of the teaser trailer shown during E3 2021. That much will undoubtedly change sometime soon.

Microsoft and Asobo Studio launched Microsoft Flight Simulator on PC in August 2020, with Xbox versions hitting the market a little less than a year later. Its recreation of the Earth's topography, flight controls, and incredible visuals ensured it counted received a spot on many a 2020 'best of' list. And the ongoing support means players revisit the experience regularly to check out new updates, DLC releases, and the like. The upcoming Top Gun: Maverick expansion will no doubt give longtime fans and newcomers alike a reason to hop into the cockpit.

Next: Microsoft Flight Simulator Expands Into Spain & Portugal

Microsoft Flight Simulator is playable on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S; the Top Gun: Maverick DLC takes off on May 25.

Source: Xbox/Twitter