Microsoft Flight Simulator download cut in half

As great as the latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator is, the drawback is a massive 170GB download in order to get the game installed. Fortunately, the download is being chopped in half as part of a new update. 

As part of the latest patch for Microsoft Flight Simulator, the developers have performed “some optimisation for the initial full download of the title”. This brings the base game down to an 83GB download instead of 170GB.

Unfortunately, specific details on how this was achieved have not been revealed, but this isn't the first time we've seen a first-party Microsoft game do this. A while back, Rare did the same thing with Sea of Thieves, shrinking the initial download size by a significant margin.

Do keep in mind that this 83GB download comes after the initial launcher download. The launcher itself comes in at 700MB, once this is launched for the first time, you will then have to install the full game.

KitGuru Says: I've been meaning to try out Microsoft Flight Simulator for a long time now, but that 170GB download has always put me off. Will any of you be trying this out now that the download size has shrunk? 

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