In brief: The latest title in Microsoft's long-running Flight Simulator series is finally around the corner, with a PC launch scheduled for August 18. As with many modern games, the title will be available both digitally and physically, but the latter format will be quite a bit bulkier than you might expect.

According to simulation company Aerosoft – the official distributor for all European physical versions of Flight Simulator 2020 (FS2020) – boxed copies of the game will ship on not one, not two, but a total of ten double-layer DVDs.

Aerosoft had to get creative with FS2020's box to fit all those discs, but in our opinion, the end result is about as elegant as it possibly could be. When the box is fully folded out, six discs are visible in the front, each slotted into its own individual pocket, with four more tucked away in the back. The manual has been placed toward the left side of the box in its own full-sized slot.

So, why are so many discs necessary, anyway? According to Aerosoft, the full on-disc content list is as follows:

  • The simulator code itself (the 'sim') that is around pretty small in size, this is a mandatory part of the sim.
  • The world and aircraft delivered by Microsoft, (that content depends on the version (the 'content') that is around 90 GB, this is a mandatory part of the sim.
  • Optional online streamed content (this is an optional part of the sim)
  • 3rd party files (clearly fully optional)

Even if you use these discs, you'll still likely need to download a few files from Microsoft's servers to get the best launch day experience. However, don't let that dissuade you from considering the boxed version anyway.

As Aerosoft representative Mathijs Kok says, the retail version of FS2020 gets you a "nice box, printed manual, and about 90 Gb you do not have to download." That's certainly not a bad deal, and the cost of the sim's physical edition will be roughly on par with its digital variant, Aerosoft claims.

If you happen to live in Europe and want to get your hands on a boxed copy of FS2020, you can do so now for €60.34 on Aerosoft's official storefront.