In just two weeks after Microsoft Flight Simulator took off, more than one million unique players have downloaded and played the game. Microsoft noted that players have done 26 million flights and logged more than 1.81 billion miles flown. It’s pretty much the equivalent of flying around the globe over 40 thousand times or going to the sun five times over. It doesn’t just attract the sim-enthusiast but mainstream gamer as well, with more than 6.5 million hours watched on Twitch. These community achievements made Microsoft Flight Simulator the biggest Xbox Game Pass for PC debut so far and the biggest launch in the series’ 38-year history.
Still, the French-based developer Asobo Studio promises that this is “just the start”. They are planning to bring more content into the game, among others are world updates, sim updates, and future themed DLC. There’s a big chance that we might be seeing a glimpse of Asobo Studio’s plan in the Tokyo Game Show 2020 Xbox Games Showcase on September 24th.
Microsoft Flight Simulator launched worldwide on August 18, 2020, and was made available for Xbox Game Pass for PC subscribers on the same day. Discounting Microsoft Flight Simulator X Steam rerelease in 2014, the Microsoft Flight Simulator series has been on hiatus for fourteen years. Its return is somewhat credited to the Xbox Game Pass‘ Netflix-like subscription model that allows for a wider variety of games to be funded. A gamble that’s proven to be pretty successful; it got 92 scores on Metacritic and Opencritic and a ‘Mostly Positive’ rating on Steam.
For now, the game is still only available on PC. The Xbox One release date, or even next-gen availability, hasn’t been announced by Microsoft. Have you tried your hands on the game yourself? Waiting for the console release? Share with us your flight stories by dropping in the comments.
