Sim Racing Product Guides » Can You Use An Xbox Controller In Microsoft Flight Simulator?

Can You Use An Xbox Controller In Microsoft Flight Simulator?

• By Mjolnir
• Last updated on January 12, 2021
• Tags: Xbox

Microsoft’s Flight Simulator is the hottest property right now, especially as it’s free to all Xbox Game Pass members.

Being that it is the first true Flight Simulator entry from Microsoft since 2006, a lot of fans of the series, and newcomers have jumped on board.

And a lot of the new players are very much casual gamers. Of course, there is a wide section of the player base who are hardcore sim heads like myself. Who like to purchase unnecessarily expensive joysticks and yokes trying to fulfil their childhood dream of piloting their own plane.

But let’s shy away from the hardcore side of flight simulation and look at those looking to play with a regular controller.

Can you play Microsoft Flight Simulator with a controller?

The great thing about Microsoft Flight Simulator being released on Xbox Game Pass, is that a lot of players who may never have tried a flight simulator can jump in and give it a go.

And that alone attracts a much wider player base. Don’t forget flight simulators are normally reserved for hardcore sim players. This years iteration has really mixed things up.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a game which can cater for a huge range of player types. It can be a completely casual experience for those who want to jump in, leave most of the assists on and make a couple of flights.

For those casual gamers, a controller works perfectly well for piloting any of the included aircraft.

With an Xbox controller, you can use the analogue sticks to controller the pitch and roll of your plane. And you have full rudder controls with the triggers.

You can also use the face buttons on the controller to control elements such as trim.

We would recommend having a mouse and keyboard close by for some of the more complex tasks. Actions such as navigating the world map, using the drop down in-flight bar and utilising the air traffic control menu do really require a mouse and keyboard.

But in-flight, you can easily fly any of the aircraft with your controller. And this is a really nice relaxing way to fly.

Put your feet up and enjoy your 6 hour bush tour.

If you are looking for a more immersive experience, check out our recommended guide for the best flight simulator controllers, yokes and joysticks.

When is Microsoft Flight Simulator Releasing on Xbox?

Microsoft Flight Simulator was released on PC across most retail outlets. But it was also released on Game Pass, making it free to play for Game Pass PC and Ultimate members.

Microsoft have also confirmed that in time, this new release will be ported to consoles.

Now, how they achieve this, when the PC version of the game has an install size of over 120GB is going to be impressive. And we would think it would be highly likely that it gets released alongside the new Microsoft games consoles this November.

When we have confirmation of this console release date, we’ll update this article.