The new Microsoft Flight Simulator is the fastest-growing entry in the series, Microsoft says, with over 2 million gamers since its launch four months ago.

“Microsoft Flight Simulator is Microsoft’s longest-running franchise with a history of 38 years, and we are proud to announce that the latest entry is the fastest to grow to over 2 million [gamers],” Microsoft’s Jorg Neumann announced. “This was possible thanks to the incredible community of fans, real-world pilots, flight enthusiasts, and virtual travelers who have embraced the new simulation since its arrival on August 18 and made it the biggest game launch in Xbox Game Pass for PC history.”

Microsoft shared a few other numbers that help explain the game’s success: Gamers have flown over 50 million virtual flights in the game since the launch, racking up over 3.5 billion virtual miles, the equivalent of 19 round trip flights from the earth to the sun. The most popular destination is New York City, and the most popular three airports are JFK, LAX, and Heathrow. And viewers have watched over 9.7 million hours of Flight Simulator gameplay on Twitch.

Microsoft hopes to expand on this momentum in 2021, when Flight Simulator launches on Xbox Series X|S in the summer, and it plans to add three “large updates” to the simulation, plus 4 or 5 additional World Updates and some other unnamed surprises.

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