Microsoft Flight Simulator launches August 18 with pricey special editions

The sweet escape

August 18 feels like a sooner-than-expected release date for Microsoft Flight Simulator given all the recent tests, but Asobo Studio is confident enough to lock it in and open pre-orders for the PC version.

Plenty of folks will stick to Xbox Game Pass – the standard edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator will be playable with the PC subscription service at no extra charge – but hardcore fans have more to consider.

Apart from the $60 base version, Asobo is also selling a $90 Deluxe Edition and $120 Premium Deluxe Edition. You better believe there’s a big “here’s what you get” image to go along with that sticker shock. In short, the more you spend, the more “handcrafted” airports and planes you’ll get to experience.

• Standard: “20 highly detailed planes with unique flight models and 30 handcrafted airports.”
• Deluxe: “five additional highly accurate planes with unique flight models and five additional handcrafted international airports.”
• Premium Deluxe: 10 additional highly accurate planes with unique flight models and 10 additional handcrafted international airports.”

To break things down, Microsoft Flight Simulator has “more than 37,000 airports” thanks to Bing Maps data, but some of them – the airports touted in these three editions – have an extra personal touch.

Asobo Studio has “no news to share regarding additional versions [like Steam or the Epic Games Store], but our goal is to have Microsoft Flight Simulator available on as many platforms as possible.”

As for the definitely-still-happening Xbox One version, we just don’t have a release date yet.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Set for Launch on August 18 for PC, also with Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta) [Xbox]