Some people get creeped out by Resident Evil. Others break into a cold sweat at the mere mention of Until Dawn. And then there’s me, locked up i my room where Flight Simulator can’t possibly hurt me. The greatest horror game franchise in history (according to me and my crippling phobia of flying) is making a return in 2020, and it looks as delightfully gorgeous as it does terrifying.
Microsoft’s premier tool for teaching you how to fly and not scream when you realise that you’re currently travelling at a dangerous height above the planet in a claustrophobic tin can held together by nuts, bolts and a prayer has plenty going for it, including real-time air traffic and over 37 000 airports from around the world that you can visit. That’s a lot of hubs to buy overpriced alcohol and massive Toblerone chocolates at.
You’d think that a hefty PC rig would be required to play the game. And you’d be right! Especially if you’re looking to try it out at its mondo-ultra best. For those of you who can handle a few visual downgrades? The requirements aren’t that bad. Here’s the full list of what your PC cockpit needs:
Microsoft Flight Simulator minimum specs
- CPU: Ryzen 3 1200 / Intel i5-4460
- GPU: Radeon RX 570 / NVIDIA GTX 770
- VRAM: 2GB
- RAM: 8GB
- HDD: 150GB
- Bandwidth: 5 Mbps
Microsoft Flight Simulator recommended specs
- CPU: Ryzen 5 1500X / Intel i5-8400
- GPU: Radeon RX 590 / Nvidia GTX 970
- VRAM: 4GB
- RAM: 16GB
- HDD: 150GB
- Bandwidth: 20 Mbps
Microsoft Flight Simulator ideal specs
- CPU: Ryzen 7 Pro 2700X / Intel i7-9800X
- GPU: Radeon VII / Nvidia RTX 2080
- VRAM: 8GB
- RAM: 32GB
- HDD: 150GB (SSD recommended)
- Bandwidth: 50 Mbps
There’s no proper release date yet for the biggest horror game of 2020, but it’ll be this year after having an extensive alpha period of testing. Eventually. Someone please hold me and tell me that everything is going to be okay once we’re in the virtual air.
Last Updated: April 22, 2020
SagatatiaRZA
April 22, 2020 at 08:16
Just looking at those ideal specs made me feel poor. A 2080 is a generous chunk of my entire salary. Might as well give it a shot on the ol’ 1060 I guess.
Original Heretic
April 22, 2020 at 08:31
I’d rather play Elite Dangerous.
What an epic space sim that is.
Wish I could experience it in VR!
Tony Parker Fox
April 22, 2020 at 17:48
If this latest effort with Flight Simulator is going to be anything like the absolute shit that MS, is putting together with Windows 10 then I prefer to stay with my FS2009/FSX. They are proven programs and so what if I can’t see into my neighbour’s sitting room or den. Doesn’t worry me at all.