Microsoft told us back in December that Flight Simulator would be available to play on Xbox “next summer,” and now we have am official launch date.
Buried in a list of Xbox’s “biggest exclusive games lineup ever,” Microsoft confirmed that Flight Simulator will launch for Xbox Series X and Series S owners on July 27. If you subscribe to Xbox Game Pass, it will be available to play at launch through the service. As an added bonus, Microsoft also announced a free Top Gun: Maverick expansion launching alongside the new movie on Nov. 19.
Although the PC version has been available since August last year, Microsoft is promising to add “free World Updates, themed DLCs, and true-to-life aircraft,” which will hopefully result in parity with the PC experience soon after launch. The PC version requires 150GB of storage space, and it seems likely a similar chunk of the Xbox SSD will be required for the game, especially with the promised content updates.
Three versions of Flight Simulator will be available for Xbox owners. The Standard Edition is $59.99 and includes “20 highly detailed planes with unique flight models and 30 hand-crafted airports.” The Deluxe Edition is $89.99 and adds five planes and five airports. Finally, the Premium Deluxe Edition is $119.99 and adds 10 planes and airports. In all three cases, Xbox Game Pass subscribers pay a discounted price if they opt to purchase the Deluxe ($71.99) and Premium Deluxe ($95.99) versions.