Microsoft Flight Simulator is a series of flight simulation video games for MS-DOS, Classic Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed significantly from Microsoft's other software, which was largely business-oriented. Microsoft Flight Simulator is Microsoft's longest-running software product line, predating Windows by three years, and is one of the longest-running video game series of all time.
Bruce Artwick began the development of Flight Simulator in 1977. His company, Sublogic, initially distributed it for various personal computers. In 1981, Artwick was approached by Microsoft's Alan M. Boyd who was interested in creating a "definitive game" that would graphically demonstrate the difference between older 8-bit computers, such as the Apple II, and the new 16-bit computers, such as the IBM PC, still in development. In 1982, Artwick's company licensed a version of Flight Simulator for the IBM PC to Microsoft, which marketed it as Microsoft Flight Simulator.
In 2009, Microsoft closed down Aces Game Studio, which was the department responsible for creating and maintaining the Flight Simulator series. In 2014, Dovetail Games were granted the rights by Microsoft to port the Gold Edition of Microsoft's Flight Simulator X to Steam and publish Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition.
Microsoft announced a new installment at E3 in 2019, simply titled Microsoft Flight Simulator, to be released initially on PC and ported over to the Xbox Series consoles at a later date. On July 12, 2020, Microsoft opened up preorders and announced that Microsoft Flight Simulator for PC would be available on August 18, 2020. The company announced three different versions of the title – standard, deluxe, and premium deluxe, each providing an incremental set of gameplay features, including airports, and airplanes to choose from. The Xbox edition was released on July 27, 2021.
The latest entry, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, was released on November 19, 2024.
History
Microsoft Flight Simulator began as a set of articles written by Bruce Artwick in 1976 about a 3D computer graphics program. When the magazine editor said that subscribers wanted to buy the program, Artwick set to work to create it and incorporated a company called Sublogic Corporation in 1977. The company began selling flight simulators for several computer platforms, including the 8080, Altair 8800, and IMSAI 8080. In 1979 Sublogic released FS1 Flight Simulator for the Apple II. In 1980, Sublogic released a version for the TRS-80, and in 1982 they licensed an IBM PC version with CGA graphics to Microsoft, which was released as simply Microsoft Flight Simulator on a self-booting disk. In the early days of less-than-100% IBM PC compatible systems, Flight Simulator and Lotus 1-2-3 were used as unofficial compatibility test software for new PC clone models.
Sublogic continued to develop for other platforms and ported Flight Simulator II to the Apple II in 1983; Commodore 64, MSX, and Atari 8-bit computers in 1984; and Amiga and Atari ST in 1986. Meanwhile, Bruce Artwick left Sublogic and founded The Bruce Artwick Organization to continue his work on subsequent Microsoft releases, beginning with Microsoft Flight Simulator 3.0 in 1988. Microsoft Flight Simulator reached commercial maturity with version 3.1, and went on to encompass the use of 3D graphics and graphic hardware acceleration.
September 11 attacks and controversy Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, Microsoft Flight Simulator became part of public discussion due to speculation that the software may have been used by the hijackers to practice flying. Although investigators did not confirm that the game played any role in the attacks, the association generated media attention and public concern.
In response to the attacks, Microsoft announced that future versions of the simulator would remove visual representations of the World Trade Center from the in-game New York City environment. The company stated that the decision was made out of consideration for those affected by the tragedy and to avoid causing additional distress. Microsoft also reviewed certain introductory content in the game that referenced near-collisions with major landmarks, acknowledging that such material could now be perceived as insensitive given the circumstances.
The controversy also affected retailers. Several major UK stores temporarily withdrew copies of Microsoft Flight Simulator from sale as a gesture of respect. Some retailers removed multiple versions of the title from shelves while reviewing their policies on stocking the game during the immediate aftermath of the attacks. Microsoft, however, maintained that claims linking the simulator to the events were speculative and emphasized that the product had been sold globally for many years without issue.
The incident marked a rare moment in which a civilian flight simulation game became entangled in broader geopolitical and ethical debates about digital media, realism, and responsibility. It also contributed to wider discussions about the relationship between video games and real world events.
Microsoft continued to produce newer versions of the flight simulation software, adding features, such as new aircraft types and augmented scenery. The 2000 and 2002 versions were available in "Standard" and "Professional" editions, where the latter included more aircraft, tools and scenery options. The 2004 release (version 9) marked the celebration of one hundred years of powered flight and had only one edition. Flight Simulator X, released in 2006, returned to dual versions with a "Standard" and a "Deluxe" edition.
The flying area encompasses planet Earth with varying degrees of detail and includes over 24,000 airports. There is an ever-growing list of scenery representing major landmarks and popular cities. Landscape details become sparse as gameplay moves away from population centers within the flight simulator, particularly outside the United States, although a variety of websites offer scenery add-ons to remedy this.
The three latest versions incorporate sophisticated weather simulation, along with the ability to download real-world weather data (first available with Flight Simulator 2000). Additional features in these newer versions include air traffic environments with interactive air traffic control functions, new aircraft models from the historical Douglas DC-3 to the modern Boeing 777, interactive lessons, challenges, and aircraft checklists. The two latest versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator have a "kiosk mode", which allows the application to be run in electronic kiosks located in public places like shopping malls. Microsoft Flight Simulator has a wide selection of upgrades and add-ons, both free and commercial, official and fan-made.
Microsoft Flight Simulator X
Microsoft Flight Simulator X is the third most recent major release of Microsoft Flight Simulator, and the last one developed by Aces Game Studio. It includes a graphics engine upgrade and compatibility with preview DirectX 10 and Windows Vista. It was released on October 17, 2006, in North America. There are two versions of the game, both on two DVDs. The "Deluxe" edition contains the new Garmin G1000 integrated flight instrument system in three cockpits, additional aircraft, and missions; Tower Control capability in multiplayer mode; higher detail scenery for cities and airports; and a Software Development Kit (SDK) for development. The main improvements are graphical.
Microsoft has also released a Flight Simulator X demo, which contains three aircraft, two airports, and two missions. It is compatible with Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista.
Closure of the Aces Game Studio
On January 22, 2009, it was reported that the development team was heavily affected by Microsoft's program of job cuts, with indications that the entire Microsoft Flight Simulator team had been laid off. Microsoft confirmed the closure of the Aces Game Studio on January 26, 2009, in a post on the official FSInsider Web site. stating "This difficult decision was made to align Microsoft's resources with our strategic priorities. Microsoft Flight Simulator X will remain available at retail stores and Web retailers, the Flight Sim community will continue to learn from and encourage one another, and we remain committed to the Flight Simulator franchise for the long term."
According to former Aces employee Phil Taylor, the shutdown was not due to sales performance of FSX, but due to management problems and delays in project delivery, combined with increased demand for staff. Speculation in the mainstream and gaming media was that future versions could be released as an Internet-based version, or on Microsoft's Xbox platform.
In October 2009, two (out of over fifty) former members of the Aces Game Studio formed a new game studio called the Cascade Game Foundry for the development of simulation games.
Third-party developer agreements Lockheed Martin Prepar3D
In late 2007, Aces Game Studio announced Microsoft ESP (Enterprise Simulation Platform), a development platform for companies that want to create products that use the technology in Flight Simulator. Following the closure of the Aces Game Studio in January 2009, Lockheed Martin announced in late 2009 that they had negotiated with Microsoft a licensing agreement to purchase the intellectual property (including source code) for the Microsoft ESP product. It is the commercial-use version of Flight Simulator X SP2. On May 17, 2010, Lockheed announced that the new product based upon the ESP source code would be called Prepar3D (P3D). Lockheed hired members of the original Aces Game Studio team to continue development of the product.
In November 2010, Lockheed Martin debuted Prepar3D version 1. Version 1.1 was released in April 2011, with a retail license cost of US$499. A developer license is also available for a monthly fee of US$9.95. In March 2012, along with the release of version 1.3, the pricing strategy was revised. The Professional edition is now available for US$199, with an Academic License available for US$59.95.
Often touted as 'FSX on steroids', P3D has so far had 5 versions, with the latest launched on April 14, 2020. Version 5 features 41 aircraft and over 23000 airports. Before that, version 2, 3 and 4 saw releases in 2013, 2015, and 2017 respectively.
Due to the changes in elevation between version 4 and version 5, many developers charged for upgrades to make their airport sceneries compatible with the new elevation. This elevation issue, in turn, created new developers to pop up to create "compatibility files" for older version 4 airports to work on version 5. Companies such as iniBuilds and Scandinavian Mountains lead the development of compatibility files.
Dovetail Games and Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition On July 9, 2014, Dovetail Games announced that Microsoft had granted them rights to develop the next Flight Simulator in the series. Dovetail Games also announced the release of Flight Simulator X: Gold Edition on Steam for late 2014, titled Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition. It was released on December 18, 2014. It is a re-release and includes content that was provided with the original FSX: Gold Edition which includes FSX: Deluxe Edition, the Acceleration expansion pack, and both official Service Packs and repackages them in one bundle and a single installation. The Steam Edition includes "all standard Steam functionality", including an overhaul of the multiplayer support to go through Steam rather than the now-defunct GameSpy, improved stability on Windows 7 and 8, and features minor performance tweaks including a complete recompile using VS2013.