Microsoft Flight Simulator Xbox players are being hit with endless loading and updates screens

What you need to know

• Microsoft Flight Simulator is finally landing on Xbox Series X|S consoles, and the game looks incredible overall.
• However, many players are struggling to actually play the game at launch, with a handful of known bugs and issues plaguing the title.
• The most frustrating appears to be an endless loading screen and endless updates screen, possibly related to stressed servers.
• In both cases, it seems players are able to get past the issue simply by waiting, sometimes for 15 minutes or more.

Microsoft Flight Simulator expands to a whole new pool of potential players by launching on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S today, and a ton of people are lining up to take flight in what's now one of the best Xbox games. Unfortunately, it seems many of those players are in for a long wait to play Microsoft Flight Simulator for Xbox.

As highlighted in our list of known bugs and issues in Microsoft Flight Simulator for Xbox, two of the biggest problems players are running into include an endless loading screen when initially starting the game, and an endless "searching for updates" screen immediately afterward. You can see multiple instances of this across the internet, including on Reddit.

In both cases, it doesn't appear like the bugs are game-breaking, nor do they totally prevent players from getting into MSFS. It's possible that Microsoft Flight Simulator's servers are being stressed by the influx of new players on Xbox Series X|S, leading to long waits and queues to get into the game. Players reportedly need to wait for 15 minutes or more to get past these screens, after which the game seems to run mostly fine.

If you're running into either of these issues, let us know if waiting eventually got you into the game, and how long the process took. We ran into the endless loading screen bug, and were able to get past that after about 15 minutes of waiting, after which we were able to start playing with few issues.

Apart from a small handful of bugs, some more frustrating than others, MSFS on Xbox appears to be an excellent port, and a fantastic option for any flight simulator fans (or players looking to dip into the genre). For our full thoughts on Asobo Studios' latest project, check out our full Microsoft Flight Simulator Xbox review. Don't forget to check out our Microsoft Flight Simulator Xbox beginner tips and tricks to help you get started.