Microsoft Flight Simulator is already on the runway and ready for takeoff, and today Flight Sim boss Jorg Neumann confirmed that pilots who want to put the headset on their face and enjoy the magic of flight in VR will be able to do so fairly soon He confirmed that they will be able to do so.

When Asobo Studio and Xbox unveiled the sim at E3 2019, the team didn't think much of VR, but it quickly became one of the most requested features; in October, Neumann said the team was "committed to making it happen" in time for launch, he could not commit to a date at that point. At that point, however, he could not commit to a date. He then reiterated that it was his top priority.

Now we know it is definitely coming, but not soon. According to Neumann, VR support will be available in time for the launch of the HP Reverb G2 headset, which HP is designing in conjunction with Microsoft and Valve and will be available this fall, although there is no firm release date yet. A list of compatible headsets has not yet been announced, but will be known shortly.

Earlier this week, Asobo announced that Flight Sim will also support TrackIR. This was added to the closed beta build, which has already been available to alpha testers for several days. The closed beta will begin today.

Microsoft Flight Simulator will be available on the Microsoft Store and Xbox Game Pass on August 18, alongside the just announced Steam version. And it looks like it will live up to our high expectations. Andy Kelly has been previewing Microsoft Flight Simulator for a week. If you just want to gawk, there's a 4K screenshot gallery and a storm-chasing video.