Microsoft Flight Simulator is starting its VR beta very soon

VR has been on everyone's mind since Microsoft Flight Simulator was first announced. Even as someone who finds VR disappointing and nauseating, I'm still eager to strap an uncomfortable, expensive headset to my face and divebomb the Grand Canyon, though I'll certainly have a sick bag nearby. And it looks like we'll get to try it out soon. 

Feedback from the announcement is what inspired developer Asobo to work on VR support, and prior to launch the studio announced that the wait wouldn't be too long, with the goal being to have it ready for the HP Reverb G2 headset, which has been designed in collaboration with Microsoft and Valve. The headset didn't have a release date then, but now we know that the first pre-orders will be sent out in early November. 

Full VR support won't be ready in time for early adopters, but some players will still be able to crank up the immersion within a month thanks to an upcoming closed beta. 

In a developer Q&A, above, Microsoft Flight Simulator boss Jorg Neumann explained that the team has been working on VR support for over a year, but now it wants player feedback. The closed beta is expected to kick off in late October or early November, starting with Windows Mixed Reality headsets and expanding to other devices later. 

To get a shot of checking out the beta, you'll need to sign up to the Microsoft Flight Simulator Insider programme and submit your DxDiag, instructions for which can be found on the official site, and of course you'll need a WMR headset. 

Along with the closed beta news, Neumann also teased the second world update. The first tackled Japan and arrived this week, and the US is next on the docket. It's not been dated yet, but the plan is to release world updates every two or three months, so expect it to appear this year. 

Further away are features like seasons and shared cockpits. The former is something that was teased during development, but it's a big task and will take a bit longer to complete. The shared cockpit feature is in a similar situation, and while the team's working on it, the priority right now is making multiplayer a more polished experience. 

The good news is that you might get to test these features before they appear in the live game. Members of the Insider programme got to play early across several alpha and beta phases, and that's something that will continue, so keep your eye out for announcements about pre-release builds. 

Fraser Brown
Online Editor

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog. 

Latest in Sim
PowerWash Simulator 2 screenshots
'More evolution than revolution': PowerWash Simulator 2 is coming late 2025, and it's bringing online multiplayer and split-screen co-op with it
A child stands on top of a dinosaur exhibit, hugging the nose of a dinosaur skull.
As a real life museum employee, I'm a bit confused by the amount of pirate ghosts in Two Point Museum—but it's not going to stop me trying to make the most realistic exhibits I can
A citizen of a city
A lot is going on for Cities: Skylines' 10th anniversary—from freebies to new creator packs—but there's still a big ol' elephant in the room
Staring eyes in a face covered in oil
Death Stranding 2's PS5 release date is in June, let's hope it doesn't take 8 months to hit PC this time
Cities: Skylines 2 screenshot - street level at night
Cities: Skylines 2's asset editor remains a distant dream: Colossal Order is still working on it but says it's 'proven more technically challenging than initially anticipated'
Town in Tales of Seikyu with two townsfolk sat on the stairs
Tales of Seikyu is just your regular farming simulator, apart from the fact I've got shapeshifting abilities and I'm engaged to a pretty persistent kappa
Latest in News
Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect's Jennifer Hale, who played femshep, 'saw no line' before she recorded them for Bioware's flagship trilogy: 'It was all cold reading on the spot'
A side by side comparison of two Asus Q-Release systems, with the original design on the top and the bottom showing the apparently new design.
Asus appears to have quietly changed the design of its Q-Release PCIe slot after claims of potential GPU pin damage
Microsoft's Task Manager in Windows 11
After years of complaints about Windows Task Manager displaying CPU utilization incorrectly, a fix is finally on its way
Sony RGB LED panel tech
Sony's fixing the wrong panel problems while showing off its new 'RGB LED' backlight tech with outrageous colours and brightness
Super Mario World
Super Nintendo consoles appear to be running ever-so-slightly faster as they age and speedrunning detectives are hot on the case
A photo of an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor surrounded by DDR5 memory sticks from Corsair, Kingston, and Lexar
Fresh leak suggests Intel's on-again-off-again Arrow Lake CPU refresh is back on the menu (boys)