Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition ▶ Trailer
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition screenshot 1Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition screenshot 2
SimulationFlightRealisticMultiplayerOpen WorldVR

1,733 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 3,271

Peak in the last 7 days: 4,006

Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition Steam store

Game description

From gliders and helicopters to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and accurate aircraft in the Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition. The world is at your fingertips.

Basic info

DeveloperAsobo Studio
PublisherXbox Game Studios
PlatformsWindows
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateAug 25, 2026
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 10
ProcessorIntel i5-4460 | AMD Ryzen 3 1200
Memory8 GB
GraphicsNVIDIA GTX 770 | AMD Radeon RX 570
Storage150 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 348 reviews from the past 1 year

68.3/ 100
Bottom 20%

Steam rating: Mostly Positive (79%)

Metacritic: 91 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

Flying anywhere on a detailed copy of Earth is the draw here, and the sim scores 68.3 from 348 analyzed reviews.

👍 Strengths

83 reviews praise the visuals, describing realistic environments, weather and lighting along with detailed aircraft. 58 find it fun and rewarding, and some recommend it to aviation fans or say it keeps the mind sharp. 20 admire the world itself, a convincing copy of the planet built from satellite data. Story & World ranks 141st of 1096, Visuals & Sound ranks 309th of 1249, and Content Volume ranks 264th of 1351.

👎 Where it falls short

Tech & Support appears in 54% of analyzed reviews and ranks 1332nd of 1399. 77 reviews report crashes and install problems, such as downloads that stop midway, login issues and leftover files after uninstalling. 58 complain about huge downloads and updates that eat hours before a first flight, and some note that this time counts as playtime, while others say it needs a strong PC to run smoothly. 14 say it is hard to get into, citing several account sign ins, confusing menus and brief tutorials. Pricing & Fairness ranks 1015th of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“visually exceptional with realistic environments and atmospheric effects” · 83 reviews
“download stops midway, login issues preventing gameplay” · 77 reviews
“meaningful tool that challenges mental abilities” · 58 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 44% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Freedom +4.41 · Room to explore, build, and play your own way
Positive “realistic physics and interactive cockpit provide freedom” · 6 reviews

Progression 2% · Difficulty 8% · Onboarding 23% · Strategy 3% · Controls & feel 15%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 20% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.90 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “convincing copy of planet earth, landmark achievement in simulation” · 20 reviews

Story 1% · Characters 0%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 18% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +2.25 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “huge map, variety of aircraft, many missions” · 10 reviews
Negative “game is 400GB+, excessive storage requirement” · 6 reviews

Variety 3% · Replayability 1%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 38% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +3.71 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “visually exceptional with realistic environments and atmospheric effects” · 83 reviews
Negative “ground textures downgraded to Zoom Level 18, look horrible and blurry in 4K” · 5 reviews

Audio 5%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 4% of reviews mention this.

Playing together +3.67 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 1% · Servers & Connection 2%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 19% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing -0.41 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge

Anti-cheat 0% · Balance 1% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 54% of reviews · Bottom 5% of the games we've analyzed

Stability -0.84 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Negative “download stops midway, login issues preventing gameplay” · 77 reviews

Performance 34% · Developer support 20%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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