When does Microsoft Flight Simulator unlock in my time zone?

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Know exactly when you can plug in your flight stick and soar across the earth.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Listen, we've looked at gorgeous Microsoft Flight Simulator screenshots and brief gameplay teases long enough. The series' return to the skies is finally on the runway, and you can read our review-in-progress now.

Microsoft Flight Simulator releases on August 18, but when exactly can you fire it up in your time zone? Here's the planned time, down to the minute.

When you can play Microsoft Flight Simulator in your time zone

Developer Asobo Studios has officially confirmed that the Steam version of Microsoft Flight Simulator will unlock on on Monday, August 18 at 9PM PDT. Here's that time converted to a few other time zones.

  • Pacific Daylight Time (US) - 8/17 at 9:00PM
  • Eastern Daylight Time (US) - 8/18 at 12:00AM
  • British Summer Time (UK) - 8/18 at 12:00AM
  • Australian Eastern Standard Time (AUS) - 8/18 at 12:00AM

If you don't see your time zone listed here, no worries. Microsoft has prepared a detailed blog post outlining the exact launch time of Microsoft Flight Simulator in every country around the world.

One important thing to note: if you buy the game from the Microsoft Store instead of Steam, it will unlock "on a rolling release depending on your timezone." Check out the times at the link above to confirm when it unlocks in your country.

The post lists every time in UTC. If you need help converting the time to your region, the site worldtimebuddy is a convenient tool that lets you search your town and find the right conversion table. If you're eagerly awaiting the game as much as us, you can catch up on some recent beautiful trailers or watch this cool visual history of the Flight Simulator series through the years.

Morgan Park
Morgan Park
Staff Writer

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.