Players excited to jump into Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox Series X may want to free up some space on their systems in advance; the game's massive file size may prove problematic for players with many games installed.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is an incredible detailed flight simulator for Windows that has received ongoing updates since its release ten months ago. The game will be released on Xbox Series X later this month, and the file size can be seen on the Xbox store currently.
With Microsoft Flight Simulator coming to Game Pass on July 27, Xbox Series X players can currently view the file size by visiting the "Manage with Game Pass" page. The base game is currently listed at 97.2 GB, which is somewhat unsurprising, but still concerning to future players. Fortunately, players looking to try out the game at launch have ample time to clear space before the game's launch. Microsoft Flight Simulator was one of the highest rated games in its release year of 2020, and non-PC players having the option to experience it is a first for the series.
Massive as 97.2 GB may seem, it is actually an impressive feat of optimization that Microsoft Flight Simulator could decrease file size at all. Updates to decrease the file size of games are by no means a standard in the industry, but that hasn't stopped studios like Asobo and Digital Extremes from optimizing games to make them playable with limited storage. The new console generation is known for massive games, so any decrease is welcome.
Microsoft Flight Simulator has seen consistent support since its release, and there is no reason to believe that will stop with the Xbox Series X version. Asobo Studio has fixed bugs with the world modeling, manually added detail to important areas and made changes to planes to bring together a realistic simulator experience. Even if the file size is huge, the fact that the game is coming to consoles at all will expose an entirely new audience to flight simulation, which is known for mainly being the domain of PC gaming since even before the first Microsoft Flight Simulator released in 1982.
The limited storage on the current generation of consoles has been a problem ever since release, but overall Microsoft Flight Simulator's requirements are not particularly egregious considering the massive wealth of detail and accuracy that storage space is used to deliver, especially with the file size decrease back in May. With its availability on Xbox Game Pass, many players who may not have cared otherwise will have the opportunity to experience Microsoft Flight Simulator for the first time. Provided the launch goes well, Microsoft may have a system-seller on its hands.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is available now on Steam and Microsoft Windows Store, and will launch on Xbox Series X on July 27.