Fans were treated to another look at Microsoft Flight Simulator at X019, with a pretty breathtaking gameplay trailer “captured in real-time 4K.” But, it looks like there are hopes that it will entice more than just simmers – Microsoft Flight Simulator head Jorg Neumann has said that aeroplane companies are hoping that the sim will help to address the ‘pilot crisis.’
In an interview at X019, Neumann tells us that, “there’s a thing in our society or world that is called the ‘pilot crisis,'” explaining that, “there’s [a shortfall of] 100,000 pilots, and it’s a huge crisis. Every aeroplane manufacturer wants us to help solve it.”
When asked if the sim’s devs are positioning themselves to help train or interest potential future pilots, Neumann says: “We’re not positioning ourselves; they want us to. Right now, it costs like $140,000 to become a pilot, and if you fail the final test twice, you’re done for life – you can’t come back.”
Talking about how this can be quite a “brutal” process, Neumann continues, saying that helping people “get used to it, and finding people’s strengths, it’s all about that. What are their strengths and aptitudes? We can help with that.”
Earlier this year, Dennis Muilenburg, the CEO of aeroplane company Boeing talked about this issue, saying that the increasing shortage of pilots presented “one of the biggest challenges” to the airline industry. At the time, Boeing forecast that the industry would need around 800,000 new pilots over the next two decades.
There’s no set release date for Microsoft Flight Simulator just yet, but you can check out the trailer above if you’re keen to get an idea of what to expect from one of the most anticipated plane games when it does arrive sometime next year.