On August 18, Microsoft is finally launching its latest flight sim, simply called Microsoft Flight Simulator. It has been a long wait for the title, and one of the features we've been most looking forward to is VR support which Microsoft has now confirmed, though at first only on the HP Reverb G2 headsets and Windows Mixed Reality devices.
No precise date was quoted, but Microsoft said that the VR support would kick off in fall 2020 as a free update, coinciding with the launch of the HP Reverb G2. Support for headsets other than WMR and the HP Reverb G2 will come later.
(Image credit: HP)
Microsoft Flight Simulator will come with a heap of new content over past releases, and Microsoft is outing the game in three different versions; Standard, Deluxe, and Premium. The base price is $60, with the two higher tiers adding $30 each, respectively to a maximum price of $120. Thankfully, if you have an Xbox Game Pass, you'll get free access to the standard game.
The base game will grant you 20 different aircraft and 30 airports, and jumping up to the Deluxe game ill give you 5 more aircraft and 5 airports. The full experience will add that many again, and you'll have to opt for that version if you want to fly at Denver International Airport, Frankfurt, Heathrow, San Francisco, and Dubai.
Lining the VR support release up with the launch of the HP Reverb G2 is an interesting tactic. Microsoft Flight Simulator is expected to come with quite the eye-candy, and the HP Reverb G2's high-resolution optics with Valve-made lenses should offer a sweet, sharp, and smooth VR experience.
If you've ever wanted to pilot a plane but don't have a license or the means to, this could be the closest the majority of us will ever come to the experience. One thing that's a constant issue for the VR community is availability of enough titles, but with Flight Simulator in the pipeline, it might just push a fair number of folks into the segment.
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This is encouraging news and hopefully VR support comes for more platforms, and soon following the initial VR offerings. If I didn't already have a VR headset, I would certainly be much more curious about investing in a VR platform, but if MS is trying to force my hand to buy into a different VR platform this isn't going to work. The new simulator looks good and if it supports existing VR headsets like the one I already have, it's a day 1 download, but otherwise I'm still on the fence. I'm not a big fan of the arbitrary limiting of product support to try and drive markets.
If you're a serious flight sim enthusiast, you HAVE to play in VR. It's like actually being there! Plus, it's way cheaper than building your own hydraulically controlled cockpit.
Really looking forward to this release. The article is a bit misleading though on the various releases. The difference between the levels is the details on the airports mentioned. The basic version gets all airports worldwide (over 32,000), they just aren't enhanced like the named ones. This article (and most) make it sound as if you are limited to just the airports provided to you. That is true for the airplane models, but not the airports.
