Microsoft Flight Simulator's Next Patch Allows More PCs to Hit 60fps massive performance improvement

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a beautiful game on a 4K display (and in VR), but it's also very demanding on PCs both in terms of CPU and memory use. However, developer Asobo Studio has been hard at work rewriting parts of the game engine and we can look forward to a "massive performance improvement" from the next patch.

In the video below, Sebastian Wloch, co-founder and CEO of Asobo, demonstrates the difference between the existing Sim Update 4 version and the forthcoming Sim Update 5 version running on his Core i7-9700K system with a GeForce RTX 2060 Super and using Ultra graphics settings at a 4K resolution.

Based on the frame rate alone, this really is a massive improvement, with the game jumping from around 32fps to hitting 60fps when flying over Manhattan. Wloch explains how the team has been working to optimize CPU, GPU, and memory usage as well as "re-architecturing" parts of the game engine. The end result is not only an improvement in frame rates, but CPU load dropping from 100% to 75%, memory use dropping from 27GB to 14GB, and the GPU being better utilized, jumping from 75% to 100%. Wloch points out the reduction in CPU use means any stuttering players currently experience should stop, too.

Asobo has been hard at work preparing for the release of the Xbox version on July 27 along with five new features, and as Twinfinite reports, these PC performance improvements seem to be a side effect of that work. It's also worth pointing out the performance gains come before DirectX 12 support is added, and similar improvements are expected for the VR version.

Referenced from: PCMag