Microsoft Flight beta registration opens

Microsoft's PC flight simulation series has been grounded since 2006's Flight Sim X. The company is finally ready to reboot the series with Microsoft Flight, but it needs a few test pilots first.

Microsoft is now accepting registrations for a beta program starting in January. The team says it will be sifting through submissions over the next couple of months and responding to qualifying participants throughout the beta phase.

Microsoft Flight will have players running various missions, ranging from waypoint challenges to aerobatic routines. Light, story-based missions will also have players finding missing persons, carrying cargo or passengers, and other similar scenarios.

Recent promotional videos for the game have used terms like "fly free" and a quote from Shakespeare, "My soul is in the sky," backed by wispy music and scenes of open air. Released screenshots also primarily feature smaller propeller planes, rather than jumbo jets or Cessnas.

Microsoft Flight is built using Games for Windows Live and will include both single and multiplayer modes. No release window has been announced for the game.