Microsoft Flight Simulator X Dune Expansion is Now Available for Free: Fully Explorable Arrakis

Microsoft Flight Simulator has introduced a new free Dune expansion, with Xbox officially teaming up with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment. The expansion is now available to all gamers who own Microsoft Flight Simulator on their respective platforms. The expansion takes the title beyond Earth, as one will explore the deserts of planet Arrakis from the Dune universe, created by American author Frank Herbert. 

This crossover is the first time the simulation has featured outer space, a fictional experience for gamers where one can fly just beyond the man-made aircraft. 

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Microsoft Flight Simulator Introduces Dune Expansion for Free

Gamers will get to pilot the popular bug-like Ornithopter as they traverse the deserts, completing the expansion's three tutorials: take-off, landing, and free fall. These also come with five time trials and one rescue mission, to sum up the expansion. According to Microsoft Flight Simulator's head Jorg Neumann, gamers controlling the Ornithopter will feel the flying vessel propelling by four precisely tuned oscillating wings. This new aircraft is a completely new addition to the game, which greatly changes the simulation experience for gamers.

The definition for the aircraft states that the Royal Atreides Ornithopter is a special ultra-performance variant of the carrier that is renowned for its lighting acceleration, speed, and fine-tuned maneuverability. When under the control of a skilled pilot, the aircraft can survive the harsh and extreme weather of Arrakis. Once gamers have mastered the basics, they can hop on the package six activities which brings the time trials and the rescue mission. In the latter, one must save their flight instructor before a sandstorm engulfs them. 

The trailer for the new Dune expansion also showcases key features of the aircraft as it is seen to take great heights whilst exploring the desert and performing great feats with the vessel. Once mastered, gamers can use the realistic controls of the Flight Simulator to replicate the same while operating the Atreides Ornithopter. With the new expansion out, gamers are also waiting for the next entry in the Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise as it was revealed last year to an excited audience. It is scheduled to be released this year for the current-gen Xbox console, the Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows. According to the developers, the next mainline entry will focus greatly on a variety of aviation-based jobs, rather than just flying an aircraft.