The big picture: Consult the Guinness World Records and you may be surprised to learn that Microsoft’s Flight Simulator has taken home several awards including longest-running video game series (the first iteration, Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0, arrived in 1982).
Many fans of the franchise thought Microsoft gave up on the series following the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition in 2014 but at E3 2019, we learned of a new iteration in the works due out sometime in 2020 for both PC and Xbox One (via Xbox Game Pass).
In a recent post on the matter, the Flight Simulator team confirmed support for 3rd party content development and community content creation. Microsoft said it is aware of the concerns in the current ecosystem and are working to address them.
The team added that they genuinely want to work closely with the community during the development process of the game. Furthermore, they’ll be working with the accessibility community. “Whatever your abilities are, if you want to fly, we are going to do whatever we can to make that happen. Yoke and pedals, mouse and keyboard, controller, etc. No pilot should be left behind.”
Microsoft said it will be communicating additional plans for the rest of the year including updates to the preview build and insider programs starting in early August so mark your calendars.
If you missed the trailer from E3 2019, be sure to have a look as it’s quite breathtaking.
