Microsoft Flight Simulator makes a surprise return and it looks absolutely stunning

Microsoft Flight Simulator is returning in 2020, Microsoft confirmed during its E3 2019 keynote. This new iteration of the long-running series was briefly teased during the Xbox E3 2019 press conference and is set to be powered by Microsoft's Azure cloud network and Satellite data.

That means you should expect AI that is constantly evolving and accurate flight paths, giving this the potential to be the most accurate flight sim game released to market. If that weren't enough, the debut trailer was fully captured in 4K and it looks absolutely stunning. Like, seriously, you need to see this thing in action.

The Microsoft Flight Simulator games have been running since the 1980s and have been a staple of the PC gaming scene ever since. The most recent instalment was Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition, which launched in 2014 and was effectively an update of the 2006 Flight Simulator X.

Interestingly, Microsoft revealed that this game will be a part of the Xbox Game Pass program although no release on Xbox One or Xbox Project Scarlett was confirmed. Given that the Xbox Game Pass PC was confirmed tonight, there's a very good chance that Microsoft Flight Simulator will be PC only, but you never know, it might make the jump to console one of these days.

No release window has been confirmed for Microsoft Flight Simulator, but it looks almost certain to be a game for release in 2020. It's the type of game that you'll no doubt want to upgrade your setup for because it clearly needs to be experienced in 4K as intended.

For more from the conferences, be sure to read our E3 2019 schedule to see what the other publishers have to offer at E3 2019.

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Josh West is Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar+. He has over 18 years of experience in both online and print journalism, and was awarded a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Josh has contributed to world-leading gaming, entertainment, tech, music, and comics brands, including games™, Edge, Retro Gamer, SFX, 3D Artist, Metal Hammer, and Newsarama. In addition, Josh has edited and written books for Hachette and Scholastic, and worked across the Future Games Show as an Assistant Producer. He specializes in video games and entertainment coverage, and has provided expert comment for outlets like the BBC and ITV. In his spare time, Josh likes to play FPS games and RPGs, practice the bass guitar, and reminisce about the film and TV sets he worked on as a child actor.