Microsoft Flight Sim head credits cloud release with game's popularity boom
During an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of Microsoft Flight Simulator, Asobo Studio's Jorg Neumann told VG247 that the playerbase for the 2020 game has doubled twice in 2022. At least one of those surges can be attributed to the title's cloud release.
Following Microsoft Flight Sim 2020's original PC release, its move to Xbox Series X|S in late 2021 doubled the playerbase. And when it came to cloud this past March, it meant that anyone with an Xbox One, mobile phone, and older PC were now free to fly to their heart's content, in turn doubling that playerbase a second time.
Neumann, who serves as the head of Microsoft's oldest game franchise, said that the cloud allowed the game to reach audiences in a larger way than its previous two releases. To him, it offered a great value to casual players through ease of access and not having to worry as much about technical specs.
That growth shows what cloud-based tech has to offer in the games space. It reduces the barrier to entry and simultaneously allows for technically impressive games like Microsoft Flight Simulator to be available to those who don't have access to expensive platforms.
"Xboxes are where they are, PCs are everywhere, and then cloud can give you everywhere," he said. "And I think that journey has just started.”
When Microsoft Flight Sim 2020 released, it was during the relatively early days of the pandemic and it became a way for many stuck at home to live out their travel fantasies. That allure of flying around the world in high fidelity, and "world updates" that changes a particular country with more recent data, are what Neumann is counting on to draw players in.
"Flight simming wasn't at all the thing [in Japan]," he explained to VG247. "They had Ace
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