Microsoft Flight Simulator has been out on the PC for some time now, but today is the day. Microsoft Flight Simulator is now here on Xbox Series X|S, and even better, it’s on Xbox Game Pass.

We reviewed Flight Simulator on the Xbox Series X and the good news is, it’s pretty much the exact same experience as its PC counterpart. Taking advantage of Bing Maps’ global imagery and the power of Microsofts’ Azure cloud platform, you’re able to freely fly anywhere in the world, taking off from pretty much any airport or runway, as well as landing at them. It really does blow my mind how this is even possible and comes at the perfect time where traveling is just not an option IRL right now.

Now, Matty here at MKAU did check out the PC version at launch, but some good news in this latest version of Flight Simulator, tutorials have been fine tuned and are now divided into only 8 different categories where before there was around 20 I believe. It’s a welcome change in my opinion as it doesn’t feel as overwhelming, especially for new players to the franchise. While I did “Wing It” and started playing Flight Simulator without doing any tutorials at all, I do recommend at least diving into a few to get a feel of the controls. You’ll also find a challenge section, leaving you plenty to come back to once you’ve finished visiting places around the world and fine-tuning your skills even further.

The newest addition to Microsoft Flight Simulator that you’ll notice from the main menu is Discovery Flights. With Discover Flights, players are able to just jump straight into a plane without the pressure of taking off or landing. There are 16 different locations you can visit such as New York, London, Egypt, or Mount Everest, just to name a few, and you’re free to fly around checking out all the famous landmarks on offer. It’s a very chill and peaceful experience, especially with the calming tunes playing in the background.

So how does the game, and planes handle using a controller? Pretty good actually. You obviously don’t have access to all the controls like you would controlling the plane within the cockpit view, but you do have more than enough controls at your fingertips to be able to take off and land from pretty much anywhere. I say anyway because I spent a lot of my time playing on stream and had my chat suggesting me some ridiculously short and crazy runways to try land at.

Sure at first there were some failed attempts but it all became second nature pretty quickly. For those that want to take it up a notch and use all the in-cockpit controls, you can do so by connecting a keyboard and mouse to your Xbox Series X, or for a more authentic experience, any Microsoft licensed accessories like a flight stick. I highly recommend either of these options as trying to navigate the cockpit controls using the controller pointer is a challenge in itself.

Now, the question on everyone’s lips. How does Microsoft Flight Simulator run on the Xbox Series X considering back when the PC version came out, a lot of PC running this would struggle even hitting 60FPS? To my surprise, as well as a lot of the viewers in my live streams, Microsoft Flight Simulator on the Xbox Series X runs incredibly well.

While it tops out at 30FPS, even in 4K (check out some gameplay here), the game feels very optimised. On saying that, you will still find some frame dips here and there. I noticed it more while flying around London, though I was told by someone in my live stream that London, even on PC, is known for having some frame rate dips. Hopefully, something that will get sorted out at some stage. Other than that, I really didn’t notice any issues at all. The Xbox Series X handles Microsoft Flight Simulator really well.

Load times are also very quick on the Series X. Jumping in and out of different locations only takes seconds to load. It all comes back to Asobo Studios really taking advantage of everything under the hood of the Xbox Series X. Playing the game in offline mode really pushes the SSD in the Series X ensuring everything loads as you need it while you’re flying the skies. If you’re blessed enough to have great NBN/Internet speeds, you can set the game to stream in even higher quality assets including real-time data such as weather and air traffic. It really is insane your Xbox is doing all this behind the scenes.

Now, the game does come loaded with the basics, mostly for its offline mode, cities around the world are being accurately replicated using photogrammetry, or constructed using Bing Maps and AI, some areas will still look a little blocky. Thankfully, the in-game “Marketplace” is your friend here.

You can download and install updated areas that will include fully modeled landmarks, or locations, while some of these packs are free, there are some that will come at a cost. Additional planes, assuming more planes are your kind of thing, can also be downloaded and added to your hanger, again, some free, some that come at a cost.

Microsoft Flight Simulator on the Xbox Series X is a true example of what the Xbox Series X is capable of. While you’ll have no issues getting away with using a controller, for the full Flight Sim experience, we highly recommend using a keyboard and mouse, or even picking up a flight stick and controls, especially if you plan to invest a lot of time into this game. Whichever way you decide to play, you’re going to have an amazing experience. See you in the skies.

Written by: MKAU Gaming