Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Preview: The Ultimate Flight Experience Just Got Better

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a franchise that has stood the test of time throughout the entire history of home video games. As a game franchise that has existed longer than both Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows, it’s safe to say Microsoft Flight Simulator is a big deal. Predating the likes of Nintendo’s most popular mascot, Super Mario, fans have been answering the sky’s call for decades to experience the exhilaration of flight.

So, when the team at Microsoft and Asobo Studios invited me to an event at the Grand Canyon to experience their latest title, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 , I gladly signed up for the crew. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 features such significant improvements from its four-year-old predecessor that it feels like the third entry in a trilogy rather than just a single generational leap.

What’s Improved?

Over the past four years, the head of Microsoft Flight Simulator, Jörg Neumann, has kept his immense promise to update the previous entry with monthly updates continually, and he has kept his word. So, why is Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 a brand-new title instead of just another update? According to Neumann, it’s due to the new infrastructure present in 2024. He mentioned that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has 4,000 times more detail and has been added to the base polygons at the ground level. And that’s not all that’s improved.

“Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is made by some of the biggest flight sim fans around, and it shows.”

The team at Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 listened to fans, addressing two of the biggest issues in the previous entry: a lack of progression (more on that later) and hazy ground-level details. These issues were top priorities, and the team worked diligently to recreate the framework of MSFS 2024 to meet fan expectations—just as fans have answered the call of the sky. Previously, players might have landed planes on hostile terrain due to a lack of texture on the ground, but in 2024, many textures will prevent planes from landing. These details extend to airports, where cracks in the tarmac often appear. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has even simulated tarmac damage and cracks to emulate real-life airport upkeep.

In addition to ground realism, planes have received an update as well. Weathering effects, like glass scratches, appear on planes to show realistic wear, and ray-tracing capabilities have been added to enhance cockpit details. Avionics play a huge part in piloting, so MSFS 2024 reworked and improved those as well, adding shadows and enhanced lighting to cockpits so Simmers can manually press each function with the graphical clarity of a real airplane.

I mentioned airports, but Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has taken realism a whole step further. The team scanned people native to each airport in the game. For example, people in New York City have had facial scans to emulate real-life New Yorkers, and the same goes for airports in Japan. The people on the ground have undergone a major overhaul, so not only will they appear in airports, but they’ll also reflect the culture they represent. No generic NPCs here—the name of the game is realistic flight simulation, and Asobo has delivered on all fronts (even down to the actual ground).

For The Community, By The Community

There was major energy in the air surrounding the Grand Canyon event for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 , and the developer presentation was led by Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jörg Neumann, CEO and Co-founder of Asobo Studio Sebastian Wloch, Co-founder of Working Title Simulators Christopher Burnett, and Founder of Got Friends Brandon Yaeger.

This group of developers made one thing certain: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is made by people who want to play more Microsoft Flight Simulator . During the presentation, Got Friends—a small company that initially crafted mods as a hobby for Microsoft Flight Simulator with only four staff members—took the stage to explain what made this title different. Microsoft reached out to Yaeger’s team with an offer to work on aircraft for the simulator, which they accepted, turning their passion into a career.

Yaeger and Got Friends helped bring some of the bigger changes to MSFS 2024 , introducing gliders and bush planes for the newest entry. It was clear, while Brandon was speaking, that the passion driving his small team into developing planes for the sim is second to none. The four-person team brought two specific aircraft types to MSFS 2024 and spoke enthusiastically about the beastly Draco X bush plane (with the help of innovative aviation creator Mike Patey) and the Stemme S12-G Glider.

“Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 adds a wealth of progression to Career Mode, allowing your pilot’s reputation and overall level as an aircraft pilot to increase.”

This news was compounded by Burnett and his team at Working Title, who helped bring life-like avionic systems to MSFS 2024 . While fans had already seen how Bing Maps brought Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 to life, more details were given to MSFS 2024 , with Garmin-branded aircraft avionics now visible from behind the yoke, courtesy of Burnett and Working Title. Bush planes and gliders (along with realistic avionics) were brought to life by Got Friends, while further avionic improvements were made by Burnett, including a flight planner that allows fans to change flight plans based on weather conditions and better travel plotting for advanced Simmers.

Although both teams aren’t technically associated, they’ve worked together to bring the sim to life in the most realistic way possible. Like a pilot and co-pilot complementing each other’s strengths, Burnett and Yaeger’s teams co-piloted the improvements. Both studio heads are also licensed pilots, adding to their credibility. Co-founder of Asobo Studio Sebastian Wloch also revealed that, this time around, MSFS 2024 used satellite imagery to continue enhancing the maps. While Bing Maps helped with the previous title, satellite imagery has taken that work further to recreate what the developers call the “second world.”

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is made by some of the biggest flight sim fans around, and it shows. Listening to fan feedback and turning a hobby into a career are two huge feathers in the flight caps of Asobo Studio .

Modes, Modes and More Modes

One of the biggest features in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is the addition of Career Mode. Here, fans can create their own likeness (or cosplay as someone else) and embark on the career path of a pilot. You can even choose where your pilot starts their journey, with the mode beginning by showing new players the ropes and guiding them towards taking their first pilot proficiency exam.

Considering I had played less than a day of the previous entry before trying 2024 , this was a must for me. I was greeted by 2024 ‘s willingness to help me learn the game, instead of the overwhelming feeling brought on by the 2020 entry. In 2024 , I’ll be Top Gun’s Maverick in no time!

Career Mode also doubles as a cleverly disguised tutorial. You feel like you’re playing Flight Simulator , not just completing a tutorial, which is a strong concept. MSFS has always had incredibly difficult controls to learn, and 2024 is no different, but the career path makes learning to fly easier than expected. The control scheme from MSFS 2020 is present here as well—sans the wildly improved avionics—but many of the in-game guides can be adjusted (for me, they were all turned on) for the pilot’s comfort.

These guides help remind players what each control does, and as a hardcore Xbox controller player, I found that many controls required holding one button while pressing another to activate a function. The guides in this section felt like flying with a skilled instructor: less memorization, more function. This is how games should work, and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 provides what feels like a perfect landing.

After passing your first flight exam, you have access to one aircraft. This is where the beauty mentioned by Asobo and their partners shines. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 adds a wealth of progression to Career Mode, allowing your pilot’s reputation and overall level as an aircraft pilot to increase. Higher levels grant access to more challenging aircraft, and so on. After leveling up, you can take further proficiency exams for helicopters, gliders, and even a hot air balloon or a Zeppelin. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 thought of everything.

“Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has added so many improvements that the leap from 2020 feels like we skipped an entry rather than got a sequel.”

However, Career Mode doesn’t tether you to a ‘wait to get to the fast stuff’ structure. Players can easily exit Career Mode and return to the main menu, where another cool new addition awaits: Challenge League.

Want to Race?

Challenge League is a new addition to MSFS 2024 and adds a level of competition to piloting. Here, community-made or developer-made challenges will be posted for fans to tackle. I had the chance to fly an FA18E SuperHornet Jet through the Grand Canyon, complete with what racing game enthusiasts would call time gates. In this challenge, you must fly through all 18 time gates without crashing to post a time. These times will be ranked on a leaderboard, showing your standing among friends and even globally, giving pilots bragging rights like Iceman himself.

I managed to post a feeble 2:54 time on the challenge, which earned me a solid #8 spot on the global leaderboard. Of course, this was boosted by how few people had posted times so far (the total was eight), but this added a competitive edge to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 , making it feel like a full-fledged video game, not just a simulator.

Aircraft Snap!

Another new mode added to the robust Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is World Photographer, the aviation equivalent of Pokémon Snap . This is yet another challenge mode that allows pilots to capture the perfect shot from anywhere in the world. The game presents a challenge, and players must meet the criteria to complete it.

One such challenge asked the pilot to fly around the San Francisco Financial District. This sounds simple, but while flying a plane, the pilot must take a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge while also capturing the San Francisco Financial District in the background. These are only two of the requirements, and there are two more difficult challenges. The other two ask the pilot to complete the task at night, with the moon in the photo, which adds an extra layer of difficulty.

MSFS 2024 also features real-life static events, like eclipses and the moon cycle, which are present in the game. Sebastian Wloch mentioned that he had turned back the clock in MSFS 2024 to September 4, and sure enough, the game portrayed the Aurora Borealis as it was in real-time. It’s incredible to see how much the team has considered when building Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 .

Real Life vs. Simulator

I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, but thanks to the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 event, I was able to experience one of nature’s biggest wonders up close and personal. I even spotted the famous Duck on a Rock in real life while witnessing the vastness of the Canyon. The Grand Canyon is breathtaking, and seeing it in person truly underscores how small humans are by comparison.

This feeling was compounded by the experience of flying the Hornet through the Canyon itself. The attention to detail by Asobo Studio is immense—most crevices are portrayed in-game as they appear in reality, like dipping a finger in ink and wiping it on a surface rather than a firm press. While it’s not a 1:1 recreation, it’s close, and it’s a reminder of the awe-inspiring technology behind Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 .

“Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has 4,000 times more detail and has been added to the base polygons at the ground level.”

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has added so many improvements that the leap from 2020 feels like we skipped an entry rather than got a sequel. Improvements to the game’s entire framework, impressive attention to detail, and newly added aircraft types make this a worthy sequel. But the addition of satellite view technology, new modes to keep pilots engaged, and impressive progression and competition systems make this more than just a follow-up—it’s a huge leap forward. D

etails like humans reflecting their real-world counterparts, ray tracing inside the cockpit, and minute touches like 10,000 hand-crafted unique helipads (out of the real world’s 80,000) and a slew of oil rigs following their real-life locations, make this a quantum leap ahead of where the team was in 2020.

All in all, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 may have continuously improved with monthly updates, but Asobo Studio and its partners have completely reworked the title with this brand-new entry in 2024. On top of everything I’ve mentioned, Neumann emphasized immersion, adding animals from Zoo Tycoon so that even wildlife areas would flourish in-game. As a bonus, Asobo Studio also promised to continue updating this new title, just as they did with its predecessor.

While Microsoft may have made questionable decisions lately, fans can rest assured that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is in capable hands—the best hands possible to maintain Microsoft’s development excellence. Small details like the inclusion of wildlife show the lengths this team will go to provide a truly immersive experience. While I wasn’t a fan of Microsoft Flight Simulator before, they’ve got a new fledgling pilot reporting in. When the sky calls in 2024, I will answer.