One of the most associated names with PC software for decades, Microsoft Flight Simulator is finally getting a sequel after 14 years. Older installments were consistently featured in hobby shops and were Microsoft's shining gaming achievements before the release of the original Xbox. In fact, Microsoft Flight Simulator even predates Windows and Microsoft Office, as the original title released in 1987. With harsh criticisms on the state of graphics in Xbox Series X games like Halo Infinite, it's bizarre to see that Microsoft has done little to promote its gorgeous new flight sim.
Flight Simulator X released in 2006 to rave reviews and is still one of the most-played flight sims on the market today. Unfortunately, a number of layoffs in 2009 led to the closure of the game's development studio. Over a decade passed and fans believed the series was done for good until the announcement of a new Microsoft Flight Simulator in June of 2019. The 2020 iteration of the game is the first to be developed for consoles. The PC version of Microsoft Flight Simulator comes out on August 18th, but the Xbox One port doesn't have a release date yet.
Combining the cutting edge technology of Microsoft Bing Maps and Azure AI, Microsoft Flight Simulator will let simmers fly to any airport in the world in 20 different available aircraft. The game will let players create their own flight plans and explore the planet in multiple weather conditions. It's incredibly impressive to see the level of detail in major cities around the world and how close to reality each airport looks.
Microsoft's Most Promising Exclusive
Microsoft Flight Simulator could have blown people away at the recent Xbox Games Showcase, but it's possible that the developers are having trouble getting the game to run smoothly on Xbox One. The newest flight sim looks more than impressive by today's standards, so it wouldn't be surprising to hear the seven-year-old hardware is holding development back. Every title shown at the Xbox Games Showcase will be available on the Xbox Series X, so perhaps Microsoft shifted resources to port the game to the new system instead.
Chances are that Microsoft Flight Simulator's graphics will look a lot better on a high-end PC than any of the Xbox consoles. Considering Microsoft wanted to demonstrate the power of the Xbox Series X during their showcase, it's possible they held back marketing for Microsoft Flight Simulator to emphasize the titles currently in development for the system. A lot of assets in the new flight sim will depend on streaming from Microsoft servers, as the game will display more details for the world, better ground imagery, and real-time weather when connected to the internet. This feature may have incurred some hurdles for the Xbox One port, meaning it might not be fleshed-out enough for a trailer yet.
It may be a while before Microsoft Flight Simulator actually releases on Xbox One, but if the studio decided to shift resources to a Series X launch it would make sense as to why Microsoft has been hiding the game for so long. Implementing Azure cloud computing onto a console may prove difficult, so there's probably a few kinks that need to get worked out before simmers are able to get their hands on Microsoft Flight Simulator on an Xbox platform.