'Microsoft Flight Simulator' Player Manages To Fly To Space

Words by: Catherine Lewis

The level of detail and depth to Microsoft Flight Simulator has always been mind boggling, but this gamer's latest achievement goes to show the astronomical (ha) lengths that the devs have gone to to create a realistic and immersive experience, even when you've ventured to places you shouldn't really have got yourself to.

The gamer, who goes by the username Straight Up P.O.G. on YouTube, shared a video of their attempt at breaking through the stratosphere and launching a plane into space, and it's really cool. Although other players have managed similar feats before on the PC version of the game, this is the first known successful attempt on the Xbox Series X, and it's just as glorious as you'd hope.

Strap in and check out the amazing feat below:

As shown in the video, the sight you're greeted with upon leaving the planet is breathtaking - the gentle glow of the atmosphere and the deep black of space looks simply incredible, so much so that it's surprising that you're not really supposed to be there. Considering most games don't bother rendering proper visuals in inaccessible areas at all, it really goes to show how much care and attention has gone into creating Flight Simulator.

No doubt, anyone who's had their hands on the game before has attempted to do this (because I mean, who wouldn't?), but chances are, you probably didn't get this far before falling back to Earth. Well fear not, because the player has also released a handy tutorial, so anyone can follow the same small steps for man and have their own Jeff Bezos moment.

If you fancy giving space flight a go, the timing couldn't be better, as Microsoft Flight Simulator is currently available on Xbox Game Pass, so make sure to pick it up while you can. If you want to follow the tutorial directly though, you'll also need to buy a specific plane from the Marketplace, so keep that in mind. But anything to reach the final frontier, right?

Topics: Microsoft Flight Simulator, News