MSFS 2020 was revolutionary for its attempt to recreate the entire Earth. It uses Bing Maps satellite data and Azure AI to generate a "digital twin" of our planet, featuring over 37,000 airports, 1.5 billion buildings, and 2 trillion trees [2]. Because the total world data exceeds 2 petabytes , the game does not store everything locally; instead, it streams high-resolution scenery in real-time as you fly [14, 21].
Players often report long update times, sometimes requiring 10-15 GB downloads for regular world updates [8]. MSFS 2020 was revolutionary for its attempt to
The mention of a .zip file highlights a common pain point: the massive installation size. Players often report long update times, sometimes requiring
As of late 2024 and 2025, the community has begun transitioning to , which is a standalone sequel [16]. While MSFS 2020 is considered "retired from the front line," it remains fully supported with aircraft and world updates [7]. Interestingly, MSFS 2024 significantly reduces the local footprint (to around 30 GB or less) by streaming almost all assets from the cloud, addressing the very storage concerns associated with large .zip archives of the 2020 version [14]. While MSFS 2020 is considered "retired from the
It introduced a new checklist system that scales from full manual control for veterans to full assist for beginners [2].
For official information and support, you can visit the official Microsoft Flight Simulator website or the Microsoft Store [6, 17].
The initial client is small, but the actual game files can range from 120 GB to over 200 GB on a local drive [21].