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Microsoft Flight Simulator closed beta coming July 2020

The development roadmap for Microsoft Flight Simulator reveals plans for the game over the next few months, including a closed beta.

Donovan Erskine

May 20, 2020 8:45 AM

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One of the biggest surprises out of Xbox’s conference at E3 2019 was the reveal that a new Flight Simulator was coming from the team at Microsoft. Since then, the game has flown under the radar, as development is still underway and there’s no current date for a full release. However, a small handful of players have gotten to spend some time with the game, thanks to a number of alphas. Microsoft recently released a development roadmap for the upcoming simulator, which revealed plans for a closed beta this July.

The development roadmap posted to the official website recaps the progress made in April, as well as laying the groundwork for what fans can anticipate over the next couple of months. The roadmap features several partnership announcements, along with updates to the current Alpha. It also includes a number of media updates, which the developers will use to make more announcements as they see fit.

Most notable among the information listed in the development roadmap is the confirmation of a closed beta coming this Summer. Slated for mid-July, this will surely put Microsoft Flight Simulator in the hands of many more players than the previous alphas. It’s not currently clear how much content will be available in the closed beta in relation to what’s planned for the full game.

Last year, I attended a preview event for Microsoft Flight Simulator, where I got to spend a considerable amount of time going hands-on with the game. With confirmation that a closed-beta is on the horizon, we hope that this means we’re getting closer to an official announcement for a full release date.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_