Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Cloud streaming demands raise bandwidth concerns

Asobo Studio's next big thing, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, is stirring up some discussion with its new cloud-based asset streaming system—mainly because people are wondering how it'll affect their internet. Some early technical alpha tests show that the game’s bandwidth needs might be heavier than expected, making things tricky for folks with slower connections or limited data plans.

Based on those tests, the game’s bandwidth usage jumps between 20Mbps and 180Mbps, which blows past the 100Mbps recommended in the official specs. At its worst, the game could stream up to 81GB of data every hour, which raises some eyebrows about whether it’s even playable for users with data caps or slower speeds.

Switching to cloud streaming is a significant change from the 2020 version, which required players to download up to 200GB just to get started—and that could stretch to 2TB if they grabbed all the DLCs. The new system aims to reduce local storage requirements, with the upcoming game needing only 50GB of space and an initial download of 30GB, aiming to keep startup times quick and eliminate lengthy update processes.

But there’s a tradeoff—keeping things running smoothly now depends on having solid, high-speed internet all the time.

To put it in perspective, other streaming services ask for way less bandwidth:

• Xbox Cloud Gaming: Requires only 20Mbps
• Nvidia GeForce NOW (highest tier): Requires 40Mbps

Compared to those, Flight Simulator 2024's streaming setup looks pretty demanding.

Another interesting bit from the testing is that tweaking graphics settings didn’t seem to lower bandwidth usage by much. Whether the plane flew over crowded New York City or out in the middle of nowhere, like the Grand Canyon, the bandwidth jumped around about the same, even when the Level of Detail (LOD) settings were adjusted.