Coming in the big Sim Update 2 patch is one of the highly anticipated features for Flight Simulator – virtual reality. The VR update won’t be of interest to everyone, but for those sim pilots who have transitioned to almost entirely using VR or using VR in concert with a flat screen, this update is going to be big. We’ve also learned that Flight Simulator in 2020 is the biggest and fastest growing entry in the series to date.
VR update incoming
Prepare yourselves for Sim Update 2 on December 22nd which will bring with it VR for the first time in the Flight Simulator franchise. As part of this week’s update, Asobo Studios has released a new edition of their Feature Discovery Series which focuses on VR. Asobo Studios has a VR/AR (augmented reality) division within their company and already had some experience with the technology on Windows Mixed Reality devices. That undoubtedly helped when the decision was made, post announcement in June of 2019, to support VR after initially not planning to include it.
Check out the video to see what Asobo Studios has been busy doing to include VR in Flight Simulator.
Two-million players!
Microsoft Flight Simulator is the fastest growing entry in the series with two-million players flying in the sim to-date. That’s an incredible number and it helps validate the feeling among long time light sim fans that this new sim has generated interest and attention in the genre like never before.
The sim’s flaws can’t be discounted but its strong potential and impressive feature set clearly have attracted huge attention to the point that we’re seeing hardware shortages and people buying up new gear just to get flying in the sim. This is great for the genre on the whole and I’m glad to hear it.
Read about the total number of players, some of the awards the sim has gathered and more right here. And don’t forget to check out the latest developer update here.
Stormbirds 
As impressive as MSFS 2020 looked I’m not doing flat screen any more so was resigned to just having a casual interest, watching the (albeit impressive) scenery in You Tube videos. The announcement of VR implementation was the second best news of the year for me (after this weeks announcement re FC vol 2, vol 3 and beyond). I purchased MSFS last week and my Reverb G2 arrived two weeks ago. I’m now all set for the 22nd!
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Fantastic! I’m hopeful that the VR implementation will work well although MSFS does have a bit of a leg up on its competitors being a modern engine and one that seems to be able to produce pretty fluid images with the right hardware.
Despite it’s flaws, it constantly impresses me. I hope you’ll have a similar experience!
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I’ll watch and see how early reviews turn out. (Will we see a VR review from you?) VR implementation is tricky to get right, and I have my doubts that they’ll nail it first try. Especially considering that the game is already performance-heavy. I’d love to be wrong though! And if it does work well, this may very well be the update that draws me in!
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No VR for me just yet. My chief priorities in the new year are to build a new system (when CPU supplies open up again) and probably get a really nice pair of rudder pedals. I may need a GPU upgrade before VR as well but I do want to get there.
I’ll keep an eye out for some solid VR review experiences (YouTube channels for example) and curate a list here.
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