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The new Microsoft Flight Simulator it’s an immersive beast of a PC game, and we can only imagine how immersive virtual reality could be, but you may not have to imagine much more, because Microsoft just opened subscriptions (via Eurogamer) for a closed beta of the virtual reality experience.
However, there are quite a few requirements if you want to be considered. Not only do you have to own the game, have a Windows Mixed Reality viewer, be a registered Microsoft Flight Simulator “Insider” and sign an NDA, you will need a PC a little more robust than the base game, with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 or better with 8GB of VRAM, as well as 16GB of system memory.
Also, you will need to prove that your PC qualifies by submitting its DxDiag (hit the Windows start button, type “dxdiag”, hit Enter) so that Microsoft can confirm those specs and that your system is not prone to BSOD or other major system errors.
(The DxDiag file is basically an inventory of your system, but it also lists recent application crashes.)
Interestingly, it doesn’t seem like you need the HP Reverb G2, the specific headset Microsoft originally said would get the first few details of the game. Any Windows Mixed Reality headset will apparently do the trick, which should be a good thing for those who have gotten deep discounts on items like the Lenovo Explorer and Samsung Odyssey in recent years.
The company isn’t saying when the closed beta will start, but it had previously promised a free virtual reality update this fall, so it probably won’t take long. If you have an Oculus, HTC, or another VR headset, there will be a second wave of closed beta for other devices as well.
Not surprisingly, Microsoft wants to be cautious about launching virtual reality, because the game initially tended to eat powerful gaming PCs for lunch. Even our Nvidia RTX 3080 wasn’t enough to run at full throttle, partly because we hadn’t paired it with a fast enough CPU. That said, we’ve seen some frame rate improvements in recent updates, so maybe VR isn’t a tremendous stretch this vacation. And maybe it will give you more time to find a flight stick.
