MicroProse has revealed the improvements coming with F-22: Air Dominance compared to the 1997 original title, and as you can imagine, there are plenty of upgrades coming after nearly three decades.
F-22: Air Dominance Fighter will have improvements across the board, updating things like graphics, gameplay, GUI, audio, and more. For example, it will support Steam Workshop and other mod support.
When it comes to graphics changes, there are plans to use native widescreen HD support (3840×2160 UltraHD, 2560×1440 QuadHD, 1920×1080 FullHD, 1280×720 HD Ready). There will also be native Direct3D 9 graphics, and three times the viewing range compared to the original.
Besides various crashes and bugs, other updates include:
- Support for 30/120 Hz rendering
- Support for TrueType font
- DPI awareness
- Removed software and glide graphics modes
As for gameplay, there are plenty of new features and improvements. New additions include a mouse look, Steam achievements, Steam Cloud, left Shift key support (for controlling LANTIRN), and new wingman radio transmissions (including informational callouts, a Mayday alert, and others).
Additionally, F-22: Air Dominance Fighter will also add Head Tracking, complete with six degrees of freedom.
While developer Digital Image Design had head tracking technology in its other games starting in 1995, the original F-22: Air Dominance Fighter did not launch with head tracking support. However, the Steam release will.
Players will be able to look around and even move around the cockpit. It’ll be compatible with anything through TrackIR or even OpenTrack to use a webcam or smartphone. If a head tracker is running or the application is enabled, the game will automatically pick it up.
For more information on the head tracking technology in F-22: Air Dominance Fighter, players can catch up here. There’s also a video showing it off in game, which players can view below:
Other gameplay improvements include better AI BVR missile evasion, roll response with keyboard controls, and escape key use.
The GUI is now windowed, and there’s an HD option. Additionally, it will display hints for autopilot, autorecovery, and a wide-angle view.
To read up on the full list of improvements, updates, and fixes, players can read the notes here. It’s important to remember that these are subject to change, as the game hasn’t been released yet.
F-22: Air Fighter Dominance is scheduled to release on PC (via Steam) on February 17, 2026.
For more news on similar titles, check out Aces of Thunder and the latest updates to DCS World.
