Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Sets August 18 Release Date
Microsoft and Asobo Studio officially set an August 18 launch date for the highly anticipated Flight Simulator 2020. The game comes in three tiers, offering varying amounts of meticulously detailed aircraft and airports.
Microsoft and Asobo Studio announce that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 launches on August 18 after completing a series of closed alpha tests. Pre-orders are currently live and the game comes in three distinct editions: standard, deluxe, and premium deluxe. Pricing ranges from $59.99 to $119.99, with higher tiers unlocking additional aircraft and highly detailed, handcrafted international airports.
The development team uses Bing Maps assets and Azure artificial intelligence to recreate the entire planet, but they still dedicate extra time to meticulously model specific high-profile airports like Heathrow, Chicago O'Hare, and Frankfurt. The standard edition includes 20 detailed planes and 30 hand-modeled airports, while the premium deluxe edition upgrades those numbers to 30 planes and 40 airports. Even the base planes in the standard package feature unprecedented levels of detail that surpass previous versions and third-party add-ons.
Because the simulator relies heavily on cloud technology to stream detailed scenery on demand, players expect regular content updates to continually expand the platform. Microsoft confirms that all aircraft and airports from the purchased edition are available on launch day alongside these ongoing updates. The game enters its closed beta phase soon, which will likely reveal more specific details about the post-launch content roadmap.