We used to play a lot of X Plane 11 here at PCG until Microsoft Flight Simulator came along and turned our eye with its prettiness. We had spent ages (and plenty of GB) downloading and sorting out photorealistic scenery for it and it was all part of the fun. Anyway, since Microsoft rejoined the party, it’s barely been loaded.
It’s exciting therefore that devs Laminar Research have confirmed that X Plane 12 is incoming. We don’t have too much in the way of finite details at this stage but let’s take a look at what we know so far.
When is X Plane 12 coming out?
Like we mentioned above, Laminar has confirmed things are well underway on the project but won’t be drawn on an actual release date at this early stage. What we do know however is that there will soon be an early beta version of addons developers to use to iron out any issues with their existing products.
This will then be followed by an Early Access phase where virtual pilots will be able to take to the skies for the first time in the new sim. After this, the game will be released in both digital and physical formats, just as X Plane 11 was. This doesn’t look like it will be in the immediate future though, so hold on to your hats for a little bit longer.
Can I upgrade from X Plane 11 to X Plane 12?
You can, and it’s remarkably easy to do so. All you need is to either have or purchase a valid key and you will have access to both X Plane 11 (Stable version) and X Plane 12 (Early Access) when it arrives.
Will my X Plane 11 Addons work with X Plane 12
They should do is the short answer. Laminar admits there may be some issues with certain existing X Plane addons but this is the reasoning behind the beta version for developers, so hopefully, they can iron out any unforeseen issues long before the game gets to the mainstream.
What new aircraft are in X Plane 12?
We already know we are getting a default F-14 Tomcat fighter jet to play with from the off so watch out Tom Cruise, but Laminar no tells us that the following new aircraft will also be included when the sim is completed.
- Cirrus SR22
- Citation X (own digital flight deck)
- A330
- F-14
- R-22
- RV-10
