Microsoft finally did the impossible. Microsoft Flight Simulator was a major technical and visual achievement released on PC in August 2020. A little less than a year later, the game becomes playable on the current-gen console as well.
Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Game Pass Launch
The game is now available on both Xbox Series X and S. It has been made available to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service as well. You don’t even have to buy the game to play it if you are subscribed.
The developer of the game, Asobo Studio, released a major update as well, which is live on PC and Xbox. It brings new content, new features, performance improvements, and more.
Performance Update
The massive 27.6 GB patch improves CPU multi-core support. Loading time has been fastened, stutters have been reduced, and GPU and memory usage were improved. This patch was the one announced early this month, promising improvements.
Discovery Flights
A new feature called Discovery Flights is here. In this feature, you can choose to fly over some awesome locations like Mount Everest, Great Pyramids, Rio de Janeiro, and Naples. You can select which type of weather you want and then sightsee. Can’t go to these places due to lockdown? Then bring these places to you. You can have two more Discovery Flights by downloading World Updates, which are available for free at the marketplace.
Speaking of new things, we also have a new Flight Assistant UI panel. You can read about what it does below.
Flight Assistant/New Assistances
The Flight Assistant is a new UI panel available via the toolbar in Free Flight and Discovery Flights. It allows you to quickly get AI help during flight:
- You can select nearby POIs or airports and set them as your destination to get directions.
- You can also give control to the AI to fly you to your chosen destination.
- If using an Xbox controller, you can choose to temporarily enable AI flight control whenever you toggle the on-screen “cursor mode” to interact with menus or cockpit instruments.
- You can delegate radio communications to the AI to let it interact with Air Traffic Control.
- You can quickly activate auto-trimming and anti-stall assists.
The update made tons of other changes as well. You can read about them on the official site.
So what do you think? Are you interested in any of these changes? Have you played Microsoft Flight Simulator yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
