This is a sourced index of commercial space flight simulation games. The list is categorized into four sections: space flight simulators, space flight simulators with an added element of combat, space combat simulators with an added element of trading, and unreleased space flight simulators.
A space flight simulator game is software that allows the operator to experience space flight with the added elements of gameplay. There are many different types of simulators. These simulators range in purpose from pure simulation to sheer entertainment. Space flight occurs beyond the Earth's atmosphere, and space flight simulators feature the ability to roll, pitch, and yaw. Space flight simulators use flight dynamics in a free environment; this free environment lets the spacecraft move within the three-dimensional coordinate system or the x, y, and z (applicate) axis.
Four-part gameplay: administration of a space station program; shuttle launches, using a highly abstracted navigation system; assembling space station parts using an EVA pod; and shuttle landings using a 2D representation.
3D aerospace sandbox where players can use customizable parts to construct and test rockets, planes, cars, or anything they can imagine in an environment with realistic physics across land, sea, air, and space. It entered early access on Steam with the name Simplerockets 2 in 2018.
Astra Protocol 2
2022
Slice Bar
Slice Bar
Windows
Retrofuturism inspired survival game with text-based commands
Flight of Nova
2022
Aerovery Lab
Aerovery Lab
Windows, Linux
Based on Newtonian physics and real life orbital dynamics
Sequel to Archimedean Dynasty but abandons much of the trading and privateering for which its predecessor was famous; reviews state the feel is that of a space combat sim
Described in 1982 as "you pilot your Alto down a trench in the Death Star and fire a torpedo in its only vulnerable spot to save the Federation ... No still photograph can describe the fine graphic detail".
Endless Space 2 is a strategic space opera set in a mysterious universe.
Your story unfolds in a galaxy that was first colonized by God-like beings known as the "Endless", who rose and fell eons ago. All that remains of them are mystical ruins, powerful artifacts, and a strange, near-magical substance known as Dust.
Windows, FS2 SCP was also ported to Linux and Mac OS X
In 2002, Volition released the source code for the game engine which is under development as FreeSpace 2 Source Code Project; FS2 SCP is the base to many user created mods
FreeSpace Port
2003
GalacticEmperor
Hard Light Productions
Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Allows users to play full campaign of original FreeSpace and Silent Threat using updated graphics engine from FreeSpace 2 Source Code Project
Included single and multi-player gameplay; released as a "Special Edition Pack" which included both CD-ROM and DVD-ROM versions; DVD version included added video cut scenes between missions
Incited controversy in Hungary as it depicts the Romanians having conquered the Earth now beginning to conquer the galaxy; full version released as freeware[31]
FMV style simulator, released on the 3DO as simply Shockwave
Shockwave: Operation Jumpgate
1995
Dice
Electronic Arts
3DO, PlayStation
FMV style simulator expansion pack, included as a bonus in most versions of Shockwave Assault
Shockwave 2: Beyond The Gate
1997
Dice
Electronic Arts
Saturn, PlayStation, Mac OS, Windows, 3DO
FMV style simulator
Silent Threat: Reborn
2008
GalacticEmperor & Goober5000
Hard Light Productions
Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
18 missions based on the original Silent Threat, 8 of the missions are original; all are made possible using the updated graphics engine from FreeSpace 2 Source Code Project
Includes both X-Wing, and TIE Fighter games with all expansion packs from both games, plus a flight training school add-on; integrated in this game is the X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter 3d accelerated engine
Prequel to Akella's Tarr Chronicles: Ghosts of Stars and set 100years prior, introduces a new race, new control modes, more advanced ship modification; Russian release is named Tarr Chronicles: Guards of the Frontier, English release is named Dark Horizon
Space sim based on a trilogy of novels written by a famous Russian author, Alexander Zorich; game was originally released in Russia in 2006, however the new release suffered from a poor English translation
Recompilation of the first three Wing Commander games; expansion packs must be downloaded separately as they were not shipped on the CD but were made available online for free
Third and final game in the Escape Velocity series (like EVO, also originally a third-party plugin), which also spawned a trading card game set in the same universe
Electronic Arts originally contracted Tsunami Media to create Starflight 3: Protostar, this contract was canceled; game was released as Protostar: War on the Frontier, original Starflight and Starflight 2 are not included in this list as they are strategy/role-playing video game oriented and the view of the ship is a top down perspective
Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance is a 1999 space simulation video game, the sequel to both Star Wars: TIE Fighter and Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. X-Wing Alliance presents the story of the Azzameen family, a family of space traders. The player assumes the role of Ace Azzameen, the youngest of the Azzameen children, juggling military duty as a fighter pilot for the Rebel Alliance, and allegiance to his family, flying larger heavily armed freighters for the family business, amid a bloody family feud and in the larger context of a galactic civil war. It received favorable reviews.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a series of flight simulator programs for MS-DOS, Classic Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed significantly from Microsoft's other software, which was largely business-oriented. Microsoft Flight Simulator is Microsoft's longest-running software product line, predating Windows by three years. It is one of the longest-running PC video game series of all time.
Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such as training, analysis, prediction, or entertainment. Usually there are no strictly defined goals in the game, and the player is allowed to control a character or environment freely. Well-known examples are war games, business games, and role play simulation. From three basic types of strategic, planning, and learning exercises: games, simulations, and case studies, a number of hybrids may be considered, including simulation games that are used as case studies. Comparisons of the merits of simulation games versus other teaching techniques have been carried out by many researchers and a number of comprehensive reviews have been published.
Orbiter is a space flight simulator program developed to simulate spaceflight using realistic Newtonian physics. The simulator was released on 27 November 2000; the latest edition, labeled "Orbiter 2016", was released on 30 August 2016, the first new version of the simulator since 2010. On 27 July 2021, Dr Schweiger announced to the Orbiter Community that Orbiter is being published under open source MIT license.
Geoff Crammond is a computer game designer and programmer who specialises in motor racing games. A former defence industry systems engineer, he claims to have had little interest in motor racing before programming his first racing game (Revs) back in 1984, but he holds a physics degree, which may explain the realism of some of his programming. As a consequence of that project he became a big fan of Formula One motor racing. At the end of the 80s, this interest, plus the ever improving capabilities of home computers, inspired him to specialise in programming Formula One racing simulations.
IL-2 Sturmovik is a 2001 World War II combat flight simulator video game and is the first installment in the IL-2 Sturmovik series. The release focused on the air battles of the Eastern Front. It was named after the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack fighter, which played a prominent role in this theatre and is the single most produced military aircraft design to date. Along with its sequels, IL-2 Sturmovik is considered one of the leading World War II flight simulators.
UNIGINE is a proprietary cross-platform game engine developed by UNIGINE Company used in simulators, virtual reality systems, serious games and visualization. It supports OpenGL 4, Vulkan and DirectX 12.
Microsoft Flight Simulator X is a 2006 flight simulation video game originally developed by Aces Game Studio and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 and the tenth installment of the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, which was first released in 1982. It is built on an upgraded graphics rendering engine, showcasing DirectX 10 features in Windows Vista and was marketed by Microsoft as the most important technological milestone in the series at the time. FSX is the first version in the series to be released on DVD media.
Shuttle is a space flight simulator game developed by Vektor Grafix and published by Virgin Games. It was released in 1992 on the IBM PC, Amiga and Atari ST.
AquaNox is a series of submarine-based first-person shooter/simulation video games set in the distant future. The collection includes AquaNox, AquaNox 2: Revelation and AquaNox: The Angel's Tears. The predecessor and the starter of the series is the MS-DOS title Archimedean Dynasty.
A space flight simulation is a genre of flight simulator video games that lets players experience space flight to varying degrees of realism. Common mechanics include space exploration, space trade and space combat.
Asobo Studio SAS is a French video game developer based in Bordeaux and founded in 2002. The studio is most known for developing video game adaptations of several Pixar movies, A Plague Tale: Innocence, and the 2020 and 2024 versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator. To develop most of their games, they use their own game engine called Zouna, which was originally developed in the 1990s by some of their own employees who used to work at Kalisto Entertainment. It was later further developed by Asobo. The studio's name is derived from the Japanese word "asobō" (遊ぼう) that means "let's play".
Universe Sandbox is a series of interactive space sandbox gravity simulator educational software video games. Using Universe Sandbox, users can see the effects of gravity on objects in the universe and run scale simulations of the Solar System, various galaxies or other simulations, while at the same time interacting and maintaining control over gravity, time, and other objects in the universe, such as moons, planets, asteroids, comets, and black holes. The original Universe Sandbox was only available for Windows-based PCs, but an updated version was released for Windows, macOS, and Linux in 2015.
A flight simulation video game refers to the simulation of various aspects of flight or the flight environment for purposes other than flight training or aircraft development. A significant community of simulation enthusiasts is supported by several commercial software packages, as well as commercial and homebuilt hardware. Open-source software that is used by the aerospace industry like FlightGear, whose flight dynamics engine (JSBSim) is used in a 2015 NASA benchmark to judge new simulation code to space industry standards, is also available for private use. A popular type of flight simulators video games are combat flight simulators, which simulate combat air operations from the pilot and crew's point of view. Combat flight simulation titles are more numerous than civilian flight simulators due to variety of subject matter available and market demand.
Kerbal Space Program (KSP) is a space flight simulation video game developed by Mexican studio Squad for Linux, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. In the game, players direct the space program of a species of green humanoid aliens known as "Kerbals". The game features a pseudorealistic orbital physics engine, allowing for various real-life orbital maneuvers such as Hohmann transfer orbits and orbital rendezvous.
Mastertronic Group Limited was a software publisher formed as a result of a merger between The Producers and Sold Out Sales & Marketing in 2004. Frank Herman, one of the founders of the original Mastertronic and former chairman of Sega Europe, was involved in negotiations to buy back the name from Sega in 2003. Frank Herman died in 2009 and the company was run by MD Andy Payne and Garry Williams.
Dovetail Games (DTG), a trading name of RailSimulator.com Ltd (RSC), is a British simulation video game developer and publisher established in 2008 by former Electronic Arts executive Paul Jackson, Fund4Games backers Tim Gatland and Charlie McMicking, and a development team from Kuju Entertainment.
Kerbal Space Program 2 is a space flight simulation video game developed by Intercept Games and published by Private Division. It is the sequel to 2015's Kerbal Space Program and was released on early access on February 24, 2023, for Windows. Development is halted after the closing of Intercept Games was initiated.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a flight simulation video game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is an entry in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series which began in 1982, and was preceded by Microsoft Flight Simulator X in 2006. The game is a return of the series after 14 years, with development beginning six years prior to its release. It was released on August 18, 2020, for Windows, with a virtual reality (VR) version released in December of the same year as part of the free Sim 2 update. Microsoft Flight Simulator is the first game in the series to see a VR and console release, with it being released on the Xbox Series X and Series S on July 27, 2021.
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