One of the most realistic mosaics of the year is on the way, featuring every inch of the planet.
Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for takeoff as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is fast approaching.
Microsoft’s new title appears to be one of the deepest and most visually stunning games of the year and pre-orders are now open!
Latest news – Alpha 5, Closed Beta timeline
This week’s Flight Simulator update has a lot to say with tons of visual and polish updates coming to the game in Alpha 5.
In addition to the extensive patch notes you can read here, we also have an official beta timeline! The Beta will start on July 30.
PC preorders now OPEN
Pre-orders for the game are now available on the Microsoft Store!
The standard version of the game can be pre-ordered for $ 59.99 / £ 59.99, while the Premium Edition comes at $ 89.99 / £ 79.99 and Deluxe Premium at $ 119.99 / £ 109.99.
Free beta with Xbox Game Pass
Those of you with Xbox Game Pass will be happy to know that the Beta will be included with your monthly subscription!
Thanks to this week’s notes, we also know that the Closed Beta will officially open on July 30, so mark your calendars.
Release date
Microsoft Flight Simulator will arrive on Tuesday August 18, 2020.
Consoles
The clue is in the title here, “Microsoft” Flight Simulator is confirmed to launch on personal computer and Xbox One.
There is also no information on the launch of the Next-Gen console, however thanks to Smart Delivery it is very likely that you can play the game on Xbox Series X.
Although there is no confirmation of this, we do not expect Flight Sim to appear on other platforms such as PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
Trailer
The previous trailer was revealed at the Xbox flagship event in London, XO19, on November 14, 2019.
It displays dazzling graphics as well as various world landmarks and planes in-game.
Insider Program – Alpha Invitations
Those looking to get straight into the action can sign up for the ‘Insider Program’, which will make them an Alpha tester.
Alpha invitations tend to ship weekly with major development updates, so keep an eye on the process and you’ll be in the cockpit soon!
Alpha 5
Alpha Build 5 arrived on Thursday, July 9, 2020! While we haven’t received a video preview for Alpha Builds since Alpha 3, this build is packed with visual updates and new details on all kinds of content.
This is clearly the most complete version to date, and it makes sense as we get closer to the Beta phase of the game.
Head over to the Flight Simulator website to see the full patch notes.
And speaking of beta …
Beta
While we don’t have a meaningful look at the Closed Beta yet, we now officially have a release date: July 30!
If you’re already invited as a tester, don’t worry, as all Alpha testers will receive a Closed Beta invitation.
But for those still awaiting your invitations, more will be shipped as we get closer to beta according to this week’s update!
Graphics
Microsoft has not released any minimum or maximum spec requirements for Flight Simulator, however from what we have seen it seems the graphics are pretty deep.
We know there will be moving traffic and individually rendered sheets, which means a lot of RAM will be needed to store / run each of these entities.
READ MORE: Xbox Game Studios – Xbox Series X, Flight Simulator, Bleeding Edge and more
This is likely to divide your player base, so the ability to reduce graphics settings will likely be included to allow less advanced systems to run the game.
Ray tracing is a way of realistically representing light and reflections. From the trailers, we can see that ray tracing is likely to be used in Flight Simulator.
Locations
The world is literally your oyster in Microsoft Flight Simulator.
All airports in the world will be available for you to take off and land.
With everyone at your disposal, where should you go?
Here are our top options as you get your jet setup.
How to play
With its improved physics engine, Flight Sim will feel much more realistic.
You will still be able to use compatible joystick controls that will make the game incredibly realistic.
Whether the game will involve haptic responses to elevation changes and turbulence, we don’t know yet, and we’ll have to wait to learn more about it, or even for a full game release.
READ MORE: Mircosoft Flight Simulator PC Requirements
Ultimately, the game tries to immerse the player in the best possible way with realistic settings and high-fidelity graphics.
Multiplayer
The most peculiar requirement is, of course, bandwidth.
On the other hand, in order for the “seamless” multiplayer feature to really pay off, you should aim for at least the recommended requirements.
In a recent interview, the developers confirmed that the minimum bandwidth should be more than enough to have a ‘good representation of the world’ anyway.
READ MORE: What We Know About Flight Simulator Multiplayer
