Today Microsoft and Asobo announced a new partnership bringing one more feature to the already rich Microsoft Flight Simulator.
The partnership is with VATSIM, a name that will certainly prove familiar to flight simulator veterans.
For those who aren’t familiar with the name, VATSIM is a free platform that helps flight simulation enthusiasts connect in a shared virtual world.
One of its most prominent features is that it also connects virual pilots with virtual air traffic controllers, letting players pretty much sit in the control tower and direct the traffic of fellow simmers as it happens in the real world.
The partnership was announced with a new trailer, which you can watch below.
On top of this, closed beta invites are going out today, and the date for the beginning of the new phase of testing has been confirmed for July 30.
Microsoft Flight Simulator launches on August 18 for Windows 10, with the Xbox One version lacking a release window for now.
If you’d like to see more, you can enjoy the trailer released at X019, alongside a gallery of screenshots, a second batch, a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, an eighth, a ninth, a tenth, an eleventh, a twelfth, a thirteenth, a video from a few months ago showing the world, one showcasing the advanced aerodynamics simulation, another about cockpits, one showing snow, one featuring advanced audio, one focusing on airports, one explaining the multiplayer, and one focusing on IFR.