Microsoft Flight Simulator is getting helicopters, gliders and the Halo Pelican

Xbox has announced that Microsoft Flight Simulator will be getting new free content to celebrate the series’ 40th anniversary.

An update called Microsoft Flight Simulator: 40th Anniversary will be made available for free to all players in November, whether they’ve purchased the game or play it as part of their Xbox Game Pass subscription.

As well as this, players can download an “incredibly detailed” rendition of the Pelican from Halo Infinite, which is available today for free in the in-sim marketplace.

The November update will include a number of classic airports and planes that featured in previous versions of the game, including 2006’s Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight.

Xbox has also revealed that the update will include helicopters, gliders and a “true-to-life” airliner, as requested by the game’s community.

A partial list of planes due to be included in the 40th Anniversary update is as follows:

Historical Aircraft

• Wright Flyer
• Ryan NYP (Spirit of St Louis)
• Douglas DC-3
• De Havailland Canada DHC-2-Beaver

Helicopters

• Bell-407
• Guimbal Cabri G2

Gliders

• DG Flugzeugbau LG8-18
• DG Flugzeugbau DG1001E neo

True-to-life Airliner

• Airbus A310

Further reading

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Microsoft Flight Simulator sets record launch for the series

Title attracts over one million players and breaks Game Pass PC record

Microsoft Flight Simulator recently got a free Top Gun expansion, to tie in with the release of Top Gun: Maverick in cinemas.

Last month the game also received its ninth ‘world update’ DLC, which focuses on Italy and Malta.

The world update DLCs improve certain regions with new terrain data and additional photogrammetry to make national landmarks look more realistic.

When the game was originally released on PC in 2020, Microsoft declared it the biggest launch in the series’ history, attracting over one million players in its first two of weeks.