The Game Census
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition cover art

Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition

Asobo Studio · Xbox Game Studios · 2026-08-25

SteamAmazonMicrosoft StoreGame Pass

Simulation

Modes: Single player, Multiplayer · Perspectives: First person, Third person, Virtual Reality

Releases: Jul 27, 2021 (Xbox Series X|S), Aug 18, 2020 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

From gliders and helicopters to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and accurate aircraft in the Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition. The world is at your fingertips.

2,150
playing now
79%
positive of 73k reviews
Mostly Positive
steam's rating (official)
2,000,000–5,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
5
twitch viewers (latest)
5.0
viewers/channel (concentration)
85/100
critic score (9 outlets, IGDB)
91/100
IGDB user rating (112 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$20.99
steam price (US)

2,150 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 10:00 UTC (census sample)

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a 2020 flight simulation video game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is a sequel to Microsoft Flight Simulator X (2006) and a reboot of the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, which began in 1982. The game's development began six years prior to its release. It was released on August 18, 2020 for Windows, with a virtual reality (VR) version released in December of the same year as part of a free update. Microsoft Flight Simulator is the first installment in the series to see a VR and console release, being released on the Xbox Series X and Series S on July 27, 2021.

Health check

Healthy
  • · 2,150 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 3,608 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~451/week).
  • · Review velocity down 24% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Current weekly pace is under 5% of the all-time peak week (10,082 reviews).
  • · Top 1% of 16,638 Simulation games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-27

Estimated sales: 1.5M–3.3M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 73,329 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$0.00

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $18.59 at Fanatical (2026-07-03)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $59.99 · on sale 25 of 41 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
7.5k7.5k20202026Week of 2020-08-01: 7,484 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 2,598 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 2,658 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 820 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 1,224 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 496 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 1,873 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 349 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 1,219 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 396 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 1,071 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 301 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 783 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 241 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 783 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 275 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 725 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 220 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 621 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 181 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 577 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 179 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 733 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 285 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 807 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 482 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 694 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 331 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 745 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 294 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 772 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 238 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 833 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 390 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 927 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 278 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 666 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 201 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 599 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 179 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 672 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 213 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 605 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 220 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 724 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 200 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 750 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 180 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 754 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 170 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 709 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 142 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 597 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 119 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 788 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 170 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 834 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 228 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 852 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 184 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 590 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 117 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 705 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 177 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 656 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 135 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 525 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 111 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 584 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 213 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 899 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 304 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 647 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 176 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 704 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 209 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 588 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 166 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 712 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 221 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 858 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 259 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 797 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 191 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 811 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 283 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 728 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 214 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 669 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 169 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 634 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 151 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 675 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 215 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 826 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 239 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 537 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 114 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 709 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 225 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 448 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 114 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 537 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 127 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 530 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 161 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 434 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 152 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 305 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 112 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 395 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 156 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 359 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 124 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 372 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 119 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 294 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 107 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 406 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 168 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 555 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 252 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 324 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 129 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 401 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 125 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 499 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 141 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 485 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 191 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 461 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 191 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 263 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 105 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 561 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 258 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 335 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 104 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 291 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 66 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 354 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 98 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 326 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 76 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 336 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 109 negativeWeek of 2026-09-01: 270 positiveWeek of 2026-09-01: 56 negativeWeek of 2026-10-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2026-10-01: 28 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

4.3k1.5k2026-09-15 11:00 — 2,197 players2026-09-16 20:00 — 2,831 players2026-09-18 03:00 — 1,592 players2026-09-19 11:00 — 3,033 players2026-09-20 18:00 — 3,824 players2026-09-22 02:00 — 1,710 players2026-09-23 09:00 — 1,845 players2026-09-24 17:00 — 3,144 players2026-09-26 00:00 — 2,241 players2026-09-27 08:00 — 2,599 players2026-09-28 15:00 — 2,927 players2026-09-29 23:00 — 1,995 players2026-10-01 06:00 — 1,511 players2026-10-02 14:00 — 3,268 players2026-10-03 22:00 — 3,328 players2026-10-05 06:00 — 1,766 players2026-10-06 13:00 — 2,908 players2026-10-07 21:00 — 2,772 players2026-10-09 04:00 — 1,708 players2026-10-10 12:00 — 3,419 players2026-10-11 19:00 — 3,683 players2026-10-13 03:00 — 1,667 players2026-10-14 10:00 — 2,150 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
21k2.7kAug 2020Aug 2026Aug 2020 — avg 20,806 · peak 61,775Oct 2020 — avg 5,623 · peak 10,724Dec 2020 — avg 5,346 · peak 12,086Feb 2021 — avg 5,364 · peak 13,725Apr 2021 — avg 5,256 · peak 10,664Jun 2021 — avg 4,111 · peak 7,480Aug 2021 — avg 5,619 · peak 11,573Oct 2021 — avg 5,033 · peak 9,872Dec 2021 — avg 5,059 · peak 8,928Feb 2022 — avg 5,012 · peak 8,923Apr 2022 — avg 4,896 · peak 8,086Jun 2022 — avg 5,813 · peak 9,522Aug 2022 — avg 5,098 · peak 9,042Oct 2022 — avg 5,109 · peak 9,614Dec 2022 — avg 6,574 · peak 11,575Feb 2023 — avg 6,202 · peak 10,538Apr 2023 — avg 5,875 · peak 9,985Jun 2023 — avg 5,159 · peak 8,948Aug 2023 — avg 5,597 · peak 9,162Oct 2023 — avg 5,439 · peak 9,858Dec 2023 — avg 6,869 · peak 12,028Feb 2024 — avg 7,072 · peak 13,226Apr 2024 — avg 6,187 · peak 11,213Jun 2024 — avg 6,519 · peak 11,915Aug 2024 — avg 6,430 · peak 10,927Oct 2024 — avg 6,218 · peak 10,890Dec 2024 — avg 5,022 · peak 8,664Feb 2025 — avg 4,721 · peak 8,067Apr 2025 — avg 4,284 · peak 7,694Jun 2025 — avg 3,910 · peak 6,306Aug 2025 — avg 4,522 · peak 7,486Oct 2025 — avg 3,845 · peak 7,088Dec 2025 — avg 3,929 · peak 6,516Feb 2026 — avg 3,349 · peak 5,977Apr 2026 — avg 3,100 · peak 5,313Jun 2026 — avg 2,713 · peak 4,453Aug 2026 — avg 2,852 · peak 5,152
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Chart history

PositiveNegative
28282026-09-212026-10-142026-09-21: 28 new positive2026-09-21: 4 new negative2026-09-23: 7 new positive2026-09-23: 3 new negative2026-09-25: 1 new positive2026-09-25: 1 new negative2026-09-26: 10 new positive2026-09-26: 2 new negative2026-09-27: 5 new positive2026-09-27: 4 new negative2026-09-28: 2 new positive2026-09-28: 1 new negative2026-09-29: 6 new positive2026-09-29: 2 new negative2026-10-01: 2 new positive2026-10-02: 5 new positive2026-10-02: 1 new negative2026-10-03: 15 new positive2026-10-03: 2 new negative2026-10-04: 11 new positive2026-10-04: 9 new negative2026-10-05: 27 new positive2026-10-05: 9 new negative2026-10-07: 16 new positive2026-10-08: 8 new positive2026-10-08: 3 new negative2026-10-09: 11 new positive2026-10-09: 5 new negative2026-10-10: 10 new positive2026-10-10: 4 new negative2026-10-12: 14 new positive2026-10-12: 3 new negative2026-10-14: 5 new positive2026-10-14: 1 new negative
New Steam reviews per day (census review snapshots). Positive above the line, negative below.

Price history

$70.09$0.002020-07-302026-10-082020-07-30 — best price $59.992022-12-22 — best price $47.992023-03-23 — best price $59.992023-07-13 — best price $38.992023-09-19 — best price $59.992023-12-01 — best price $59.992024-01-04 — best price $59.992024-03-14 — best price $35.992024-04-19 — best price $59.992024-05-21 — best price $59.992024-06-27 — best price $29.992024-07-31 — best price $59.992024-09-30 — best price $59.992024-11-27 — best price $38.992024-12-19 — best price $29.992025-03-13 — best price $29.992025-04-24 — best price $29.992025-05-27 — best price $59.992025-08-01 — best price $59.992025-09-19 — best price $23.992025-10-25 — best price $23.992025-12-02 — best price $59.992026-01-08 — best price $59.992026-02-25 — best price $23.992026-03-19 — best price $20.992026-04-30 — best price $20.992026-06-15 — best price $59.992026-07-15 — best price $20.992026-08-17 — best price $59.992026-09-10 — best price $0.002026-10-08 — best price $0.00
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

2761012026-05-29 — 259 pageviews2026-06-02 — 163 pageviews2026-06-06 — 144 pageviews2026-06-10 — 178 pageviews2026-06-14 — 223 pageviews2026-06-18 — 142 pageviews2026-06-22 — 248 pageviews2026-06-26 — 168 pageviews2026-06-30 — 153 pageviews2026-07-04 — 101 pageviews2026-07-08 — 154 pageviews2026-07-12 — 135 pageviews2026-07-16 — 107 pageviews2026-07-20 — 144 pageviews2026-07-24 — 139 pageviews2026-07-28 — 140 pageviews2026-08-01 — 143 pageviews2026-08-05 — 136 pageviews2026-08-09 — 158 pageviews2026-08-13 — 144 pageviews2026-08-17 — 159 pageviews2026-08-21 — 156 pageviews2026-08-25 — 259 pageviews2026-08-29 — 208 pageviews2026-09-02 — 181 pageviews2026-09-06 — 179 pageviews2026-09-10 — 142 pageviews2026-09-14 — 175 pageviews2026-09-18 — 163 pageviews2026-09-22 — 139 pageviews2026-09-26 — 134 pageviews2026-09-30 — 161 pageviews2026-10-04 — 166 pageviews2026-10-07 — 137 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Twitch viewers

15802026-09-30 21:34 — 13 viewers2026-10-01 06:34 — 9 viewers2026-10-01 15:34 — 2 viewers2026-10-02 00:34 — 16 viewers2026-10-02 09:34 — 23 viewers2026-10-02 18:34 — 37 viewers2026-10-03 03:34 — 16 viewers2026-10-03 12:34 — 35 viewers2026-10-03 21:34 — 14 viewers2026-10-04 06:34 — 4 viewers2026-10-04 15:34 — 19 viewers2026-10-05 00:34 — 4 viewers2026-10-05 09:34 — 38 viewers2026-10-05 18:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-06 03:34 — 2 viewers2026-10-06 12:34 — 25 viewers2026-10-06 21:34 — 2 viewers2026-10-07 06:34 — 6 viewers2026-10-07 15:34 — 11 viewers2026-10-08 00:34 — 0 viewers2026-10-08 09:34 — 6 viewers2026-10-08 18:34 — 24 viewers2026-10-09 03:34 — 3 viewers2026-10-09 12:34 — 13 viewers2026-10-09 21:34 — 25 viewers2026-10-10 06:34 — 20 viewers2026-10-10 15:34 — 18 viewers2026-10-11 00:34 — 21 viewers2026-10-11 09:34 — 18 viewers2026-10-11 18:34 — 4 viewers2026-10-12 03:34 — 158 viewers2026-10-12 12:34 — 13 viewers2026-10-12 21:34 — 3 viewers2026-10-13 06:34 — 5 viewers2026-10-13 15:34 — 8 viewers2026-10-14 00:34 — 1 viewers2026-10-14 09:34 — 12 viewers2026-10-14 18:34 — 9 viewers2026-10-14 20:34 — 5 viewers
Hourly Twitch viewers (census snapshots).

Completion

43
achievements tracked
62.8%
earned "Challenge Accepted"
4%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsFull controller supportSingle-playerMulti-playerSteam AchievementsFull controller supportVR SupportedIn-App PurchasesHDR availableFamily Sharing3 DLC

12 supported languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Dutch, Finnish, Japanese, Norwegian

Post-launch support: 3 DLC released, first 2026-08-25 (Steam store data)

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

VRFlightPhysicsTrackIRColorfulAdventureBeautifulReal-TimeRealisticOpen World

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Recent updates

Players also track

Cooking Simulator

Similarity via IGDB.

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