Microsoft has announced that the Game of the Year Edition of Flight Simulator will be released on November 18 as a free upgrade for existing gamers, according to a blog post by the firm. On the same day that the original (Standard Edition) becomes unavailable, new customers will be able to acquire the extended version of the flying game for the same price as the standard edition.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is available for PC and Xbox Series X and S consoles, as well as for Windows 10. The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, the first military aircraft to be included into the game, is included in this update. Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year Edition also includes four additional aircraft, eight new airports, new missions, improved weather effects, early access to DirectX 12, and numerous other minor improvements over the game's previous variants.
Finally, Microsoft pledges to use information from Bing Maps to make more cities appear photo-realistic in the future. The city of Utrecht, among other places, will soon be even more gorgeous in the game, which is already extremely realistic-looking.
Here is what is included in the GOTY Edition:
New Aircraft
We are adding 5 brand new aircraft to Microsoft Flight Simulator:
New Airports
We are adding 8 handcrafted airports in Central Europe and the United States:
The Game of the Year release is adding information about 545 previously missing airports in the United States.
New Missions
Based on the popularity of the recently introduced Discovery Flights, we are adding an additional 6 locations (Helsinki, Freiburg im Breisgau, Mecca, Monument Valley, Singapore, and Mount Cook) to this popular series.
New Tutorials
To further expand the onboarding experience, we are adding 14 new tutorials, introducing simmers to Bush flying (in an Icon A5) and IFR (in a Cessna 172).
New Features
We are also pleased to introduce several highly requested features by the community: an updated weather system, early access to DX12, and a dev mode replay system.
New Photogrammetry Cities
As part of our ongoing collaboration with Bing Maps, we are pleased to add a number of new photogrammetry cities: Helsinki (Finland), Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany), Brighton, Derby, Eastbourne, Newcastle, and Nottingham (UK) and Utrecht (Netherlands).
celebrate the launch of Windows 11, from October 19 to November 18, we have selected 11 landmarks across the globe that will be lit up in Windows blue within Microsoft Flight Simulator. In addition, we are releasing a special Windows 11 themed livery for the EXTRA 330LT for simmers to add to their collection.
And, best of all, the Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year Edition will be available as a free update for existing players on PC and Xbox Series X|S. For new users, the GOTY Edition is the perfect entry point to flight simming as it offers an even richer experience, and it will be the item they purchase as we are retiring the original.
We can’t wait for you to experience this expanded edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator on November 18. We encourage you to invite your friends to experience the wonders of flight. The sky is calling!