You can now play the original Microsoft Flight Simulator inside Microsoft Flight Simulator
Yo dawg, I heard you like flight sims in your flight sim
Eagle-eyed Microsoft Flight Simulator players have uncovered a secret that lets you play the first four games in the long-running series inside the cockpit of one the game’s planes. The Easter egg was introduced along with the game’s 40th Anniversary update, which went live on Friday. Activating the secret games will let you play them in your aircraft’s cockpit, using the keys on the screen to control the plane-within-a-plane.
The secret was posted in the Flight Simulator subreddit by HughesMDflyer4, who provided instructions on how to find it. You’ll need to choose a Diamond DA62 to fly, and flick the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) on the plane’s dashboard to on. The original Flight Simulator from 1982 should appear, although you can move between games in the long-running series by selecting at the top of the little screen. I wouldn’t recommend trying to play the game while you’re airborne, but I’m sure some enterprising speedrunners out there are already trying to pilot both planes at the same time.
Flight Simulator’s 40th Anniversary update added a bunch of historical planes, such as the Spirit Of St. Louis, along with new aircraft including helicopters and gliders. Devs Asobo Studio have paid tribute to the series 40-year legacy in other ways too, such as returning the very first game’s starting airport, Meigs Field in Chicago, to their 2020 reboot. Meigs Field had appeared in every version of Microsoft Flight Simulator until 2004, until it was demolished in real life back in 2003.
You can find Microsoft Flight Simulator on Steam and the Microsoft Store for £60/$60/€70. PC Game Pass subscribers can download the game as part of that subscription service.