Oliver Haslam·

Microsoft Flight Simulator For PC Pre-Orders Now Live, Release Date Announced

Microsoft today announced that it will launch Flight Simulator on August 18, with PC gamers able to do all those things people like to do with flight simulators; presumably.

The game has already been in the hands of alpha testers for a few months and now gamers can pre-order their copy. Those ordering digitally can also pre-install the game, ready for take-off on the big day.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is about as close to flying as most of us will get and it’s said to be very, very realistic. That’ll be even more apparent now thanks to a new day and night engine that will let pilots fly at any time of the day. There’s also going to be a new checklist system that will make it easier for beginners to get started.

New Checklist System – From pro to beginner, scale your level from full manual to full assist with interactive and highlighted instrument guidance and checklist.

Microsoft Flight Simulator will be available in three different versions, ranging from $60 through $120 for those who want all the bells and whistles.

  • The Microsoft Flight Simulator Standard Edition ($59.99 USD) includes 20 highly detailed planes with unique flight models and 30 hand-crafted airports. The Standard Edition will be available on day one with Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta).
  • The Deluxe Edition ($89.99 USD) includes everything from Microsoft Flight Simulator’s standard edition plus five additional highly accurate planes with unique flight models and five additional handcrafted international airports.
    The Premium Deluxe Edition ($119.99 USD) includes everything from
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator Standard Edition plus 10 additional highly accurate planes with unique flight models and 10 additional handcrafted international airports.

This is about as good as these things get if you’re into flight sim games. But those already into them probably already have their preorders in anyway, right?

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