Microsoft Flight Simulator has finally taken off, giving players the opportunity to tour the entire world without ever needing to leave their PCs. A globe-trotting simulator of air travel, it’s also a game that requires a hefty amount of hard drive space, which isn’t immediately apparent if you purchase it through Steam.
While the download through Steam is only 532MB, that part of the game will then initiate the rest of the installation which will pull a staggering 127GB of data through your internet connection.
Depending on your home internet setup, that installation might take a while. Because the download is done through the game client, it technically wracks up play time through Steam, which has left some people concerned over their ability to refund the game should they be unsatisfied with it.
Steam currently allows you return a game and receive a refund if you’ve played it for fewer than two hours, but Microsoft Flight Simulator will be a special case should players seek reimbursement when they return the product.
“The time it takes your machine to download the additional content will not be counted against the Steam Refund Policy,” VP of Marketing Doug Lombardi said in an email reply to PC Gamer. GameSpot’s review of Microsoft Flight Simulator will land soon, but until then you can browse our sister site Metacritic, where the current review score aggregate of 93/100 makes the game one of the most positively reviewed of the year.
Or if you prefer something different, you can tour the skies and visit famous landmarks such as the block of flats where Buckingham Palace used to be. Microsoft Flight Simulator is currently out on Steam and Xbox for PC, and although a console version has been mentioned in the past, no concrete details have surfaced for it yet.
