Could Microsoft Flight Simulator be heading to PlayStation 5?

As Xbox gamers weigh up last night’s Microsoft business update and the new news that four older games would be making a cross-platform leap, the move beyond these initial four titles (which we believe to be Sea of Thieves, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, and the excellent but criminally underrated Grounded), what else will be interesting owners of other consoles, particularly PlayStation 5?

At the moment the Nintendo Switch is more limited in what is suitable, although the likes of Grounded would make a great Switch game, but the PS5 opens up a world of opportunity to surely bring Microsoft Flight Simulator to its second console.

After a hugely successful PC release, the sim made its way to Xbox where it spawned a new generation of players, and even people who bought the console to play who maybe could not afford the high-end PC hardware entry specs.

Companies even brought out flight sticks specifically for the Xbox and it is not a huge leap to suspect that Microsoft Flight Simulator could make its way onto Sony’s hardware, which is more than capable, before too long.

An article in The Verge says Microsoft has already been weighing up the possibility of bringing the franchise to rival platforms – that realistically can only be PlayStation as the Switch, in its current form, would melt.

With Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 slated for the middle of the year it is also a title that would not cause mainstream fuss, like a Halo, Forza or Starfield would. MSFS is a console exclusive to Xbox without anybody having really noticed that it is. Bringing it to PlayStation would also be a great move for the swathe of third-party developers who produce aircraft, airports, and scenery for the game’s marketplace.

There would likely be a few hoops to jump through to get Flight Sim’s marketplace on Sony’s hardware, but surely nothing insurmountable and it would bring pretty much a totally new genre to the gaming giant’s hardware and expand the game’s audience to a whole new level of players.

Paul McNally

Gaming Editor

Paul McNally has been around consoles and computers since his parents bought him a Mattel Intellivision in 1980. He has been a prominent games journalist since the 1990s, spending over a decade as editor of popular print-based video games and computer magazines, including a market-leading PlayStation title published by IDG Media.

Having spent time as Head of Communications at a professional sports club and working for high-profile charities such as the National Literacy Trust, he returned as Managing Editor in charge of large US-based technology websites in 2020.

Paul has written high-end gaming content for GamePro, Official Australian PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation Pro, Amiga Action, Mega Action, ST Action, GQ, Loaded, and the The Mirror. He has also hosted panels at retro-gaming conventions and can regularly be found guesting on gaming podcasts and Twitch shows. He is obsessed with 3D printing and has worked with several major brands in the past to create content

Believing that the reader deserves actually to enjoy what they are reading is a big part of Paul’s ethos when it comes to gaming journalism, elevating the sites he works on above the norm. Reach out on X.