Grab Some New Wings And Soar With Microsoft Flight Simulator's 40th Anniversary Edition 1
Image: Xbox Game Studios

Microsoft Flight Simulator has been a classic for over four decades, providing fun and realistic flying simulation to the masses, and with the 40th anniversary addition of its 2020 iteration having just been put on sale on Steam, it seems like now is a better time than ever to spread your wings and take to the skies.

The anniversary addition comes with additional content, such as planes and airports, packaged in 4 different “editions” that each contain more and more content as the tiers increase.

The first tier is called the “standard” edition, available for £59.99, and from the Steam page we can see the 40th anniversary update contains the following as additional content:

  • 1 true-to-life Airbus A310 Airliner
  • 2 helicopters and 14 heliports
  • 2 gliders and 15 glider airports
  • 7 famous historical aircraft including the Hughes H-4 Hercules (aka the Spruce Goose)
  • 4 classic commercial airports
  • 24 classic missions from the franchise’s past

Moving up the tiers, we see the “Deluxe” edition, available for £79.99, that contains everything mentioned in the standard edition, along with:

  • Diamond Aircraft DA40-TDI
  • Diamond Aircraft DV20
  • Textron Aviation Beechcraft Baron G58
  • Textron Aviation Cessna 152 Aerobat
  • Textron Aviation Cessna 172 Skyhawk
  • Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands)
  • Cairo International Airport (Egypt)
  • Cape Town International Airport (South Africa)
  • O’Hare International Airport (USA)
  • Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (Spain)

Like before, the next edition, “Premium Deluxe”, available for £109.99, includes everything before it, in addition to:

  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner
  • Cirrus Aircraft SR22
  • Pipistrel Virus SW 121
  • Textron Aviation Cessna Citation Longitude
  • Zlin Aviation Shock Ultra
  • Denver International Airport (USA)
  • Dubai International Airport (United Arab Emirates)
  • Frankfurt Airport (Germany)
  • Heathrow Airport (United Kingdom)
  • San Francisco International Airport (USA)

While there is the final "aviator" edition, available for a whopping £169.99. There seems to be no description regarding it on the Steam page directly, so I can’t speak on what is included in that tier in regard to the 2020 addition, but if the 2024 edition is anything to go off, it should be similar to what we see with the latter tiers: more planes and airports for you to choose from.