Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is yet another giant leap for the globe-spanning flight simulation series, boasting improved detail not only with its aircraft and physics but on the ground too. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's trees change color and lose their leaves with respect to real-world seasonal changes, and the ground is realistically populated with rocks, branches, and local wildlife. Meanwhile, aircraft are now modeled with electrical and hydraulics systems that can degrade with wear.
In an interview with The Best War Games, CEO Sebastian Wloch discussed how these improvements allow third-party add-on and mod creators to develop unprecedented content for the series. In particular, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's on-foot functionality enables new ways to explore and interact. Camping, fishing, and trail running are on the menu for simmers looking to stretch their virtual legs outside the cockpit.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Fastest Planes
Try out some of these planes in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 if you have a need for speed.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's New Features Are Ripe For Content Creators
While it's not uncommon for PC games to have thriving modding communities that introduce new content and ways to play, Microsoft Flight Simulator has a special relationship with third-party content. Along with the typical unsupported mods created by talented fans, Microsoft Flight Simulator is also home to several paid add-on creators whose entire business revolves around enhancing the sim experience. These add-ons, not dissimilar to Bethesda's Creation Club, are even available through an in-game add-on browser. Add-ons had a significant impact on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, and Sebastian Wloch predicts that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will also host some game-changing add-ons.
Right now, we just did the basics. You can run, walk, and interact with the plane because it was designed for pre-flight. Now, in2020, there are add-ons for camping, fishing, and more. There are already add-ons, and we expect more will come, either from add-on creators or from people customizing the sim. That's something we definitely see coming. Yeah, it's really exciting.
Wlochdrew attention to some of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020' s more unusual add-ons: Campout, developed by the prolific add-on creation team at Parallel 42. This particular add-on allows players to bring along camping gear in any aircraft and deploy it wherever they land. Players can customize their campsite with an array of furniture, props, and over a dozen dog breeds to keep camping aviators company.With Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's new on-foot gameplay, there's a bottomless well of potential for add-on creators. Since Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 now features hundreds of regionally accurate animal species, it's not hard to imagine activities like hunting or fishing among countless others. A highly-detailed simulation of the entire planet is ripe for creators to deliver immersive life-sim experiences that entire games are often built around. Of course, many of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020' s add-ons are already compatible with 2024.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Is An Ideal Destination For Virtual Tourists
When Wloch isn't heading up Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's operations at Asobo Studio, he revealed that he's a passionate mountain runner with experience traversing trails throughout Europe. He mentioned that in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, he's been able to run some of those very same trails–albeit without the physical fatigue. Wloch pointed out that add-on creators with similar outdoor proclivities could build upon this by including aid stations and checkpoints along those trails to offer virtual runners an authentic trail-running experience as a walking simulator.
I don’t know what players will do, but I can tell you what I’ll do! I’m actually a mountain runner, and I do a lot of hiking and ultra-running. I’ve done the UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) and one in the Pyrenees.
Those kinds of events take hours, and in the sim, you can run pretty much forever without getting tired. I’ll probably do the UTMB route in the sim, complete with aid stations and everything. That’s definitely something I plan to do, and I imagine other players might do similar things. It’s completely possible.
Just as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 allows thousands of people to experience the thrill of flying an aircraft that they otherwise never would have, this on-foot gameplay makes the entire globe accessible to virtual travelers. Creators can refine this even further, letting simmers soak in faraway vistas, admire auroras, and visit iconic landmarks like the Grand Canyon. In this way, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 can even outshine Google Maps as a tool for virtual tourists.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 76 /100 Critics Rec: 68%
- Released
- November 19, 2024
- ESRB
- Everyone / Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Asobo Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
WHERE TO PLAY
Explore the world with our largest fleet of aircraft and take simulation to new heights while pursuing your aviation career within Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
Launch your aviation Career wherever you choose in the world. Gain experience, build your reputation, and complete certifications to gain access to authentic aviation activities ranging from Medevac, Remote Cargo Ops, Aerial Firefighting, Search & Rescue and more, all the way to becoming an Airline Passenger Transport Pilot. Set out on a truly global aviation adventure with virtually unlimited missions across the planet.
Compete against other pilots in the all-new Challenge League mode or hone your skills in dozens of Activities ranging from exciting Rally Races and Precision Landings to Low-Altitude challenges and more. Fly head-to-head in the iconic Red Bull Air Races and the legendary Reno Air Races, including the new Roswell courses.
Be a World Photographer and travel across our beautiful planet to capture awe-inspiring natural vistas, visit famous landmarks, and record these adventures with pictures in your travel book. Unique photo challenges test your creative eye along with your piloting skills while you strive to capture the perfect moment.
- Franchise
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
- Platform(s)
- Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR2, PC
- Genre(s)
- Flight Simulator
