91/100
Players115 ratings: 85/100
Critics9 reviews

Where to get it

Steam

2020 · Asobo Studio · Simulation

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Xbox console exclusive

Microsoft Flight Simulator is the next generation of one of the most beloved simulation franchises. From light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and stunning aircraft in an incredibly realistic world. Create your flight plan and fly anywhere on the planet. Enjoy flying day or night and face realistic, challenging weather conditions.

Released: 17 August 2020
Platforms: Windows Xbox Series X/S macOS
Genres: Simulation
Developers: Asobo Studio
Publishers: Xbox Game Studios
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: First person Third person Virtual Reality
Themes: Non-fiction
Engine: Ftech X

About

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a series of flight simulation video games for MS-DOS, Classic Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed significantly from Microsoft's other software, which was largely business-oriented. Microsoft Flight Simulator is Microsoft's longest-running software product line, predating Windows by three years, and is one of the longest-running video game series of all time.

Bruce Artwick began the development of Flight Simulator in 1977. His company, Sublogic, initially distributed it for various personal computers. In 1981, Artwick was approached by Microsoft's Alan M. Boyd who was interested in creating a "definitive game" that would graphically demonstrate the difference between older 8-bit computers, such as the Apple II, and the new 16-bit computers, such as the IBM PC, still in development. In 1982, Artwick's company licensed a version of Flight Simulator for the IBM PC to Microsoft, which marketed it as Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Keywords

flight simulator
planes
flying
airplane

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Development

Microsoft Flight Simulator began as a set of articles written by Bruce Artwick in 1976 about a 3D computer graphics program. When the magazine editor said that subscribers wanted to buy the program, Artwick set to work to create it and incorporated a company called Sublogic Corporation in 1977. The company began selling flight simulators for several computer platforms, including the 8080, Altair 8800, and IMSAI 8080. In 1979 Sublogic released FS1 Flight Simulator for the Apple II.

In 1980, Sublogic released a version for the TRS-80, and in 1982 they licensed an IBM PC version with CGA graphics to Microsoft, which was released as simply Microsoft Flight Simulator on a self-booting disk. In the early days of less-than-100% IBM PC compatible systems, Flight Simulator and Lotus 1-2-3 were used as unofficial compatibility test software for new PC clone models.

Reception

Flight Simulator has been praised for its realism. PC Magazine in January 1983 called Flight Simulator "extraordinarily realistic ... a classic program, unique in the market". It praised the graphics and detailed scenery, and concluded "I think it's going to sell its share of IBM PCs, and will certainly sell some color/graphics adapters".

BYTE in December 1983 wrote that "this amazing package does an incredible job of making you think you're actually flying a small plane". 95 you can't have everything". A pilot wrote in the magazine in March 1984 that he found the simulated Cessna 182 to be "surprisingly realistic". While criticizing the requirement of using the keyboard to fly, he concluded "Microsoft Flight Simulator is a tour de force of the programmer's art ...