Microsoft Flight Simulator Is About to Get Even Better

Microsoft Flight Simulator will release on the Xbox Series X|S on July 27. Ahead of that release, developer Asobo unveiled some changes to the game’s engine that lead to major performance boosts.

This info comes courtesy of a livestreamed video from Asobo on Wednesday. In the video below, the dev reviews what will be going into the game’s Update 5.

This update is the version of the game that will land (so to speak) on both Xbox and PC on the same day. But what’s the secret to the improved performance?

The not-so-technical explanation is that in optimizing the game for Microsoft’s console, they managed to improve performance across the board. To show off how much better things are, Asobo CEO Sebastian Wloch demonstrated a flight over Manhattan. Before the update, this flight averaged 40fps. After the update, the same flight using the same settings on PC is now at 60fps.

Depending on your gaming rig, there are other tweaks you can make, including further improvements via DirectX 12 optimization. Those who play the game in VR will also see improved performance, though the dev didn’t get into the specifics of what these improvements will be.

Ultimately, an updated Microsoft Flight Simulator stands to make one of the most impressive simulators ever made even better than gamers could have imagined.