Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's Ideal Specs Revealed, Bring A Boatload Of RAM

In just two months from now, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will take flight on Windows PCs and Xbox Series X|S game consoles. For those who intend to pilot the gamer on the former platform, we now know what kind of hardware you'll need for your gaming cockpit. The minimum specifications are pretty tame by today's standards, and even the recommended specs are decidedly midrange. The 'ideal specs', however, call for burlier hardware, including a whole bunch of RAM.

We'll get to that in a moment, but first let's have a look at the minimum specifications...

The first thing that stands out is the much lighter storage requirement. Whereas the most recent version of Microsoft Flight Simulator required around 150GB of SSD storage (and more, with updates factored into the equation), the 2024 release drops that all way down to 50GB. Future updates and DLC will undoubtedly push that higher, but at least the starting point is comparatively tame.

Beyond the storage, the minimum specs call for an AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i7-6800K paired with a Radeon RX 5700 or GeForce GTX 970 graphics card, and 16GB of system RAM. You'll also need an internet connection with 10Mbps of bandwidth.

Moving up the list, the recommended specs call for a Ryzen 7 2700X or Core-10700K processor, Radeon RX 5700 XT or GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card, 32GB of RAM, and 50Mbps of bandwidth.

Then for the ideal specs, publisher Xbox Games Studio and developer Asobo Studio suggest a Ryzen 7 7900X or Core i7-14700K, Radeon RX 7900 XT or GeForce RTX 4080, 64GB of RAM, and 100Mbps of bandwidth. The RAM is what stands out the most, with the idea specs calling for more system memory than storage space—the storage requirement is 50GB across the board.

To be clear, this is a brand new game and not a DLC update.

"Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a standalone simulator and the next-generation sequel to Microsoft Flight Simulator that launched in 2020. Current aircraft and airports that are in Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020), as well as virtually all Marketplace add-ons, will be supported in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024," a related FAQ states.

Reducing the storage requirement was a point of focus for Xbox Game Studios and Asobo Studio. The devs were able to get the requirement down by leaning harder into the latest streaming technology. Even so, this is being pitched as "the most ambitious commercially available flight simulator that has ever been undertaken."

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will launch on Windows, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming on November 19, 2024, and will be available on day-1 on PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. That gives you several weeks to make sure your PC meets whichever set of gaming requirements you're aiming for.