Apply now for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024’s free alpha test

Are you eager to try out the latest bells and whistles in Microsoft’s bellwether flight sim? Good news, then! You don’t have to wait for Flight Simulator 2024‘s full release in November. In a week or two, the game will go into a limited stress test, which is a chance to try it out for free. You might say it’s a pre-flight checklist that you can play.

Microsoft announced the upcoming “technical alpha” on the official Flight Simulator website, which includes the system requirements for the PC version — which are pretty beefy, even for a hardcore simulation. You’ll need a second-gen Ryzen or sixth-gen Core i7 paired with a GTX 970 card (or equivalent) at the minimum. The game’s “ideal spec” calls for a Ryzen 9 7900X or i7-14700K processor and a Radeon RX 7900XT or GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card.

That’s a very powerful machine. Based on a quick glance at the Steam hardware survey, I’d guess about 2 percent of current PC gamers at best can match it. The rest of us mere mortals will have to make do with turning down some of the visual splendor.

When exactly will the technical test begin? That isn’t spelled out, so I assume Microsoft is still ironing out the details. But based on the 2-to-3 day period announced, I’d guess they’ll aim for a weekend, which would mean it’ll start on or around either October 19th or 25th.

Not everyone who signs up for the alpha will be invited, either. You’ll have to offer up a DxDiag scan to prove that your machine can handle it.

If you’re still game, head on over to the signup page and cross your fingers. The full game will release on November 19th.