Xbox Series X is a strange console. It’s great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s been rather unusual to have a next-gen machine underneath my television with no signature exclusives to call its own. Its selection of launch games was barren, with showcase experiences like Halo Infinite being delayed so extensively that they’ve still yet to see the light of day. The Medium is technically a major exclusive, but it isn’t one which flaunts the hardware in any meaningful way, with bespoke updates for existing games occupying a similar territory.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is the first pure-bred exclusive that stands a chance of pushing the console to new heights, presenting a visually and mechanically ambitious experience that wasn’t possible on last-gen machines. We know that much, because the company has opted to avoid them entirely and instead release a curated version especially for the Xbox Series X/S. I’m concerned about how the latter console will handle things, crossing my fingers that it will maintain a solid level of performance at a decent resolution without crumbling beneath its own hardware constraints.
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Microsoft’s more powerful console is the most interesting prospect here regardless, boasting the horsepower to provide a flight sim experience that won’t match up to the most powerful of gaming PCs, but will damn sure give them a run for their money. If you aren’t familiar with Microsoft Flight Simulator, it has become somewhat infamous for bringing even the most powerful of hardware to its knees. I reviewed the original release using an RTX 2080 Ti and a half decent processor, and even those struggled to meet a decent level of performance and visual fidelity without forcing loading times of ten minutes plus on me as my poor little machine struggled to render the entirety of Tokyo for me to fly around in.
It was a bit of a rough experience, and my obnoxious brain loves to spend more time in the settings menu than actually playing the game if things aren’t picture perfect. While the console version stands a chance at making some graphical compromises, I’d rather a more consistent, welcoming experience that reigned in its technical ambition than one prone to falling apart at the seams. Xbox Series X has a chance of providing that, and the specific nature of its design should allow Asobo Studio to create something genuinely astounding.
We’ve seen Sony do amazing things with the PS5 and its SSD technology, with talented studios producing the likes of Demon’s Souls, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Astro’s Playroom – all of which are lightning fast and adventurous in a way that few games before them have ever been. Xbox doesn’t have something like this yet, and with Halo Infinite hopping between generations, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the first title that actually stands a chance at pushing this hardware to do something it’s never done before. Render entire cities with loading times that last only a handful of settings, allowing me to bear witness to procedural weather conditions and aerial traffic that lends an element of realism to the experience that is almost unparalleled.
The PC version is almost magical in its visual majesty, and is untouchable with the right hardware backing it up. I’m not confident the console version will manage such a feat, but it doesn’t need to in order to prove the Xbox Series X is a powerhouse worth taking seriously. I’ve written before about how Microsoft’s studio acquisitions are now bearing fruit, and it’s currently barren slate of exclusives will soon grow into a selection of games that is almost untouchable. Microsoft Flight Simulator could be the start of this strategy, offering an otherwise niche sim to a wide audience of players who will happily give it a try because it folds seamlessly into the existing service. It's the first real test for Xbox Series X in a number of ways – not just as a visual showcase, but as a blockbuster addition to Game Pass that will begin the rollout of a repertoire that is nearly unparalleled.
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