Microsoft Flight Simulator Gets New Spectacular Screenshots, Closed Beta Details, & More

Microsoft and Asobo released another update related to the upcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator, and as usual, it comes with news and gorgeous sights.

First of all, we get news about the upcoming closed beta. While its launch is still on track for July 30, those who are already in the alpha are getting access to the beta build today. If you fire the game up you should find it ready to update.

Invites for everyone else are going out by July 23, a week from now.

Secondly, Microsoft Flight Simulator will launch with a marketplace partner program that will let third-party content developers sell their add-ons directly within the game’s UI. Third-party content has always been a relevant part of the Microsoft Flight Simulator hobby, so this is pretty sweet news.

Partner developers will be able to set the price of their content at their discretion and to continue selling it on their own sites and storefronts as well.

On top of the news, we also get the usual serving of gorgeous screenshots from the alpha testers.

The screenshots come straight from the PCs of alpha testers OperatorLand468,  JohnnyT5000, old radar, FalsetaxYT, Richstagx, ebbsy2, DirtyRolando200, Flinty94, ColorfulZeus767, Johnny15000, Neebs43, speedwoblz, ethugp3pp3r, and Batlle777.

Microsoft Flight Simulator launches on August 18 for Windows 10, with the Xbox One version lacking a release window for now.

If you’d like to see more, you can enjoy the trailer released at X019, alongside a gallery of screenshots, a second batch, a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, an eighth, a ninth, a tenth, an eleventh, a twelfth, a video from a few months ago showing the world, one showcasing the advanced aerodynamics simulation, another about cockpits, one showing snow, one featuring advanced audio, one focusing on airports, one explaining the multiplayer, and one focusing on IFR.