Microsoft Working to Add VR to its Flight Simulator

Microsoft is working hard to add virtual reality to its upcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator a few days after it told YouTubers VR would not be part of the initial launch. 

In an interview with AVSIM, Jorg Neumann, head of Microsoft Flight Simulator said the tem is trying its "darnedest" to add VR support to the program.  

“Right after the E3 trailer came out there was a lot of people making that exact assumption, that ‘Oh yeah, this better be supporting VR right from the get go.’ It honestly wasn’t our plan. But we are listening, and we heard it, so we will try our darnedest to make it happen. Whether or not we’re going to pull it off for launch, we can’t commit to that at this point in time, but we are aware of the desire […] We will try to prioritize that over other things," he said in the audio interview. 

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Microsoft's flight simulator was revealed earlier this year

Earlier this year Microsoft announced the impending launch of Microsoft Flight Simulator for Windows 10 and its Xbox gaming console. The program relies on aerial imagery from Bing Maps that have ultra-high resolutions and machine learning technology from its cloud Azure, which creates 3D scenes from the imagery. 

Since announcing Microsoft Flight Simulator at E3 2019, game reviewers have gotten their hands on it and according to media reports have raved about the accuracy of the mapping and the realism of the graphics in the flight simulator. 

Microsoft touts accuracy 

In a blog post, earlier this fall Microsoft touted the new flight simulator with Mike Nelson, Xbox Wire Editor saying the Flight Simulator is so accurate that "Visual Flight Rules are totally applicable." He meant that Microsoft was able to recreate the world so accurately that gamers can navigate using known roads, rivers, and lakes to find their way around. 

"What’s astonishing here for MSFS is that this is all reproduced on a global scale, allowing you to truly see the world from the comfort of your virtual cockpit," he wrote. "Microsoft Flight Simulator is shaping up to not only be a tentpole example of how to create a flight simulator today, but also work as a fantastic learning tool for the classroom and for those that want to 'see' the world without leaving their house. It’s all here and it’s all very impressive to behold."