While we just learned that Sim Update 5 and PlayStation VR support for the PS5 version of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 should officially release next week, you don’t need to wait, as both have just been made available in beta.
At the moment, the beta is available only to those who purchased the simulator digitally. If you have a physical disk, you’ll have to wait for the beta of Sim Update 6 to participate.
As explained on the official forums, you’ll find the beta in the PlayStation Store. You need to navigate to the MSFS 2024 page in the PlayStation Store, select “…” and then select “Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Beta.”
This will install the beta as a separate installation.
There are a few caveats to keep in mind, since the beta is intended to help test that everything is in order, so you shouldn’t expect a 100% perfect experience. Also, there are the following caveats.
- All Career Mode specializations are automatically unlocked and all users are granted a large sum of credits to purchase and test various aircraft in Career Mode.
- The in-sim Marketplace is disabled, though purchases from the base sim are carried over to the Beta.
- The Challenge League leaderboards are separate from the base sim.
- Progress in Career mode and Challenge League is not carried over between the beta and the base sim (and vice versa).
- Trophies are disabled and cannot be earned.
Also, the following aircraft won’t be functional in the beta. This is an issue that the developers are working to fix.
- Antonov An-225 (in Aviator)
- ATR 42-600/72-600 (in Aviator)
- Airbus Helicopter H225 (in Premium Deluxe)
- Boeing 707-320C (in Aviator)
Since the beta is a separate installation, you’ll have two MSFS 2024 entries in your dashboard. The beta is marked “Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 PTE | Beta”, so if you want to continue playing Sim Update 4, you can by selecting the normal box not marked as beta.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is currently available for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. If you’d like to hear more about the simulator, you can watch our latest interview with Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann.
If you’d like to see and hear more about the PS5 version, you can check out our first flight, a flight in the Grand Canyon, a look at how it handles complex airliners, a tutorial on how to use SimBrief, and one on how to use the Airbus Autopilot. You can also enjoy our first flight on PlayStation VR2.
If you’d like to read more flight simulation news, you can find plenty in our latest roundup article from yesterday.
If you want to go further back, we have a handy overview video of the major flight simulation news in the past week. You can watch it below. As usual, leaving a like and a comment and subscribing to our growing YouTube channel is extremely helpful.
