Microsoft Flight Simulator X releases beta to aid FS2020 development

Are you excited for the upcoming release of Microsoft Flight Simulator in 2020? Do you own Microsoft Flight Simulator X on Steam? If you answered yes to at least the second question, then good news! You can now participate in a fresh new beta.

Microsoft Flight Simulator X has released a new beta branch in order to gain new telemetry data that’ll help in the development of Flight Simulator 2020.

It’s completely free to participate in the beta if you already own the game and, if you don’t own the game but you’re interested, you can always pick yourself up a copy on Steam here for $24.99/£19.99.

Just remember that Microsoft Flight Simulator X is not the upcoming game – it’s the 2014 Steam version of the 2006 game – but if you want to register for the upcoming game’s technical alpha, you can do by following the steps in the blog post here. You can also just admire the announcement trailer below.

If you own Microsoft Flight Simulator X, simply follow the steps below in order to opt into the beta. You can also opt out at any time.

1. Launch Steam and head over to your Library.
2. Right click on FSX: Steam Edition.
3. Select Properties.
4. Select the “BETA” tab.
5. Choose “fsx-beta External Beta” branch.
   • Note: No code is required to get into the beta! You can just ignore the box requesting one.
6. Select “yes” when asked if you allow telemetry.
7. Restart your Steam Client.
8. Success!

If you want to opt out of the beta and return to the game’s live build, just follow the steps above and select “branch – NONE” instead. Remember to restart your Steam Client when done.

For more information including bug fixes for the game’s current build, you can check out the official Steam post about the topic here. Happy gaming!