Helicopters are coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator, but there's bad news

As the name suggests, Microsoft Flight Simulator is all about flying, but thus far, that's been limited to flying in planes. While there's a wide range of planes available in Microsoft Flight Simulator, from small single-engine planes like the Cessna 172 to massive passenger airliners like the Boeing 747-8, we're still limited to flying planes at the end of the day. Thankfully, it appears that's all changing next year, as Asobo Studio has confirmed that helicopters are coming to the game.

This was revealed without much fanfare in a recent developer update published on the Flight Simulator website. Much of that developer update is centered around a new partnership with Orbis International that will allow Microsoft Flight Simulator players to tour the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital in-game. That promotion will be going live on July 27th as a free download for all Flight Simulator players, so keep an eye out for that.

Below that announcement, Asobo Studio posted the Development Roadmap as of June 2021, which takes us through September. That, however, was accompanied by a feedback snapshot for Microsoft Flight Simulator, showing all of the user suggestions that have been collected from the Flight Simulator forums. First on the list with a whopping 1,506 votes from the player base is a suggestion titled "Helicopters are a Must."

That feedback snapshot reveals that helicopters are indeed planned for Microsoft Flight Simulator, but the bad news is that they won't be arriving until 2022. Since the feature is only in the planning stages, it'll probably be quite some time before we hear more about them, but it's nice to know that they're coming regardless.

Some other incoming features revealed by the "Top Wishes" list include multiple screen functionality (planned for 2021-22), replay functionality (2021), and even the addition of AI-controlled trains – but those won't be arriving until 2023. We'll keep an ear to the ground for more on helicopters in Microsoft Flight Simulator, but otherwise, look out for the game's launch on Xbox Series X|S on July 27th.