Next month, Microsoft is set to launch Flight Simulator for the Xbox Series X and Series S, but it won’t be exactly the same game. In fact, five new features/improvements have been added to the experience in time for the console release.
As VGC reports, Jorg Neumann, head of Flight Simulator at Microsoft, went through the imrpovements during the Xbox Games Showcase Extended event. The five new features are as follows:
- 10 discovery flights in “the most compelling places” have been added to help players get straight into the action with a flight instructor beside you doing most of the work.
- It will be possible to turn on labels showing points of interest overlaid on the game and in the map, which Neumann believes makes for a “much more enriching experience.”
- The eight tutorials from the PC version have been turned into 22 shorter ones on Xbox along with ratings so players know how well they performed.
- A Flight Assistant feature has been added allowing the game to take control and fly you to specific locations, land the plane, or recover from different emergency situations.
- A Land Anywhere feature will allow you to land aircraft on any body of water, land, or snow-covered area because “everybody is good at taking off, but some people are hesitant to land.”
Flight Simulator is also getting a major content update with a focus on the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. As the trailer above reveals, it adds a lot of very scenic locations to fly over.
It’s called the World Update V: Nordics, and it “includes improvements in detail of broad swaths of landscapes, enhancements to regional architecture, improved data for 100 airports and 78 carefully selected points of interest.” The update also includes five bush trips, one for each Nordic country, as a way of getting you to the most scenic destinations, and a number of landing skill tests at Denmark’s Bornholm, Iceland’s Ísafjörður, Sweden’s Stockholm Arlanda, Norway’s Svalbard, and Finland’s Vaasa airports. The Nordics update is free and available now to anyone who owns the game. The Xbox version releases on July 27 and should also include access to the Nordics content.
