Can you play Microsoft Flight Simulator with an Xbox Controller?

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a wonderfully deep and addictive game, allowing you to fly all over the world in everything from a small prop plane to a massive airliner. While it is certainly a true simulator, it is packed with options that make it friendly for new players. While you can’t hop in and be an ace pilot, you certainly can learn how to be one, and the game will help you get there.

The most readily available controller that most people will have access to is the Xbox controller, so you may be wondering if you can play the game this way. The answer is yes, absolutely. Through a combination of keyboard controls and the Xbox controller, you can take to the skies, fly to your destination, and land safely. 

The Xbox controller is plug and play, all you need to do is connect to your PC, and the game will instantly recognize it, and start giving you the appropriate on-screen prompts. Now, it is important to keep in mind that controller a plane in a realistic simulator is very different to how it will work in more arcade-based games. You will need to learn a whole new form of delicacy when using the yoke, and at first, it might even feel like the controller set up is poorly implemented.

In reality, you need to learn to be extremely delicate with the controls as you are trying to fly a delicately balanced piece of machinery in a simulator, you are not tearing through the skies over the battlefield of a war game. With a little bit of time and effort, the controls will start to feel natural, and it becomes a very enjoyable way to control your plane.