It does so using new AI-driven technology – one that needs a constant fast internet connection to work at its best.
It’s been 14 years since the launch of Flight Simulator X, which long seemed like it would be the final release in the long-running series.
When the company announced it would re-launch the franchise just over a year ago, using a new graphics engine and satellite data from Bing Maps, it sure created a lot of hype among both old fans and those who had never played the older version but were drawn to the next-gen graphics the company showed off in its trailer.
Microsoft’s new Flight Simulator was worth the wait
The good news is, the new Microsoft Flight Simulator was worth the wait, and, starting August 18, you’ll be able to see for yourself.
The company is offering a free “Aviators Club” livery set to players who get the game before Sept. 30. It’ll appear in the in-game marketplace on Wednesday, and can be applied to all of the game’s aircraft.
Pricing starts at $59.99 for the standard version of Flight Simulator on both the Microsoft Store and Steam. If you want access to more planes and hand-crafted airports, you will need to buy either the $89.99 deluxe version or, for even more of those, the $119.99 premium version.
The default edition features 20 planes and 30 hand-modeled airports, while the deluxe edition bumps that up to 25 planes and 35 airports and the high-end version comes with 30 planes and 40 airports.
Rest assured, though, especially if this is your first outing in Flight Simulator, with the base version you can still land at the same 36,000 airports as the others, and there are more than enough planes to keep you occupied  you’ll just miss out on a few extras (and if you really want to, you can buy upgrades to the more premium versions later).
The cheapest way to give the game spin is to subscribe to the Xbox Game Pass for a month, because the standard edition is now part of Microsoft’s subscription program, and if you’re a new subscriber, the first month only costs $1.
