Flight Simulator 2024 Lands on PS5 Today; And Here’s the Backstory of How It Happened

If you’ve been keeping up with Xbox and PlayStation announcements lately, you probably know that a lot is going on between Sony and Microsoft. Microsoft has officially started porting its first-party exclusives to PlayStation. The latest to cross over is Flight Simulator 2024, which launched today on PS5.

Here are all the editions of the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 available to pre-order now:

• Standard Edition: $69.99
• Deluxe Edition: $99.99
• Premium Deluxe Edition: $129.99
• Aviator Edition: $199.99

If you’ve ever been curious why Flight Simulator 2024 made the jump to PlayStation, the story behind it is actually more interesting than you might expect. In an interview with XDA-Developers, Jorg Neumann, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator, revealed that the idea to bring the series to PlayStation actually came from him around two and a half years ago.

At the time, Microsoft had opted to keep the flight sims exclusive to PC and Xbox, citing the success of Flight Simulator 2020 on both platforms. But things apparently changed when someone at Sony, a long-time fan of the series, reached out proactively to Microsoft’s leadership, expressing interest in an official port.

According to Neumann, that request nudged the project forward and eventually kicked off the “avalanche” of Xbox titles coming to PlayStation. Sony’s approach doesn’t stop there. After welcoming Xbox ports, the company seems to be easing up on its own exclusives. Helldivers 2 recently arrived on Xbox and even outsold Microsoft’s games. In other words, Sony is now more open to cross-platform releases, and the results are promising for the company.

Now that Xbox-exclusive Flight Simulator 2024 has landed on PS5, you have a clear idea of how the two console giants are approaching exclusivity. With these changes, the lines between console ecosystems are becoming increasingly blurred. Which upcoming PlayStation or Xbox title are you hoping will cross over next? Let us know in the comments below.

Rishaj is a tech writer who has been writing professionally for over four years, with a passion for Android, Windows, and all things tech. He initially joined Windows Report as a tech journalist and is now taking over as a news editor. When he’s not breaking the keyboard, you can find him cooking, or listening to music/podcasts.