Microsoft Flight Simulator will soon move into closed beta, with the alpha version behind it. Microsoft and Asobo sneaked a roadmap update into the development post (Cheers, ResetEra) last week, but did not include a specific date; it is expected to appear in mid-July.

The first technical alpha kicked off in October, but since then it has moved into a regular ongoing alpha, with a third update recently: two more in early and late June, then a closed beta. The differences from the alpha version have not yet been announced, but will probably require signing up for an insider program.

If you haven't had a chance to play it yet, you can relive it through official and community screenshots posted along with development updates. To see it in motion, check out a recent video of a plane flying through an impressive volumetric cloud.

Before planning your aviation adventure, take a look at the system requirements for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The minimum specs seem quite achievable, but you will probably have to make a lot of sacrifices. The ideal specs are much more demanding, with RTX 2080 or equivalent recommended. I'm close enough to the ideal specs, but if I were to upgrade just for one game, it would probably be a flight sim.