For many years, Google has hidden a flight simulator recreation within the desktop app for Google Earth, and now everybody on this planet can entry it by way of an online browser.
Put together for takeoff. ✈️ Flight simulator is now obtainable globally on internet to all customers. https://t.co/jV5ZW7BZeW
We have not too long ago added many our strongest skilled desktop options to internet. Elevation profiles, new import sorts, however there’s at all times been one different function… pic.twitter.com/s11NDaCx60
— Google Earth (@googleearth) June 12, 2026
The sport is a part of a bigger push by Google so as to add pro-level options to the web site interface. A few of these options embrace elevation profiles, new import sorts, further knowledge layers and the flight simulator.
A lot of the above options are for skilled and hobbyist use, however the flight simulator is only for enjoyable. It is been round since 2007 within the desktop app, and Friday marks its first look within the web site model of Google Earth.
It is not as in-depth as another flight sims, however you may’t argue with the breadth of locations the place you may fly.
How you can play the flight simulator in Google Earth
It would not take a number of effort to get into the sport. Begin by following this hyperlink to the Google Earth web site and clicking the Discover Earth button within the prime proper nook. Use the search bar to load the purpose on Earth the place you wish to fly. Lastly, click on Instruments, and the flight simulator is the final choice on the listing.
The controls aren’t proven within the recreation, however you could find them on Google’s developer web site. You possibly can select to make use of the mouse or arrow keys to manage the pitch and roll of the airplane. The Web page Up and Web page Down buttons enhance and reduce thrust, respectively. However watch out — it’s fairly straightforward to lose management of the airplane, resulting in a topsy-turvy browser display. The sport ends in the event you crash the airplane, however Google enables you to strive once more as typically as you need.
Google Earth Flight Simulator would not use rendered graphics. These are precise, real-life pictures.
What’s it prefer to play Google’s flight simulator?
The Google Earth flight simulator is an Easter egg in what’s finally a device used for training and by a shocking quantity of companies.
Enjoying the sport is enjoyable, however not in the identical serious-gaming sense as enjoying Microsoft Flight Simulator or Ace Fight. These are the varieties of video games you play to finish goals, for the enjoyment of practical flight, and the surroundings. The one a part of that blend the place Google Earth’s flight simulator retains up is its breathtaking surroundings.
Microsoft Flight Simulator fashions the Earth at 1:1 scale, permitting gamers to fly globally utilizing real-world geography, airports, and terrain. It combines Bing Maps knowledge, satellite tv for pc imagery, and AI-assisted procedural era to create a extremely detailed and sometimes photorealistic illustration of the planet. Google Earth enables you to do the identical, besides your map is made up of images taken by the Google Maps staff or sourced from satellites and low-flying plane.
Each platforms current the same global-scale setting and incorporate photorealistic parts. Microsoft Flight Simulator typically delivers a better degree of visible constancy by way of real-time rendering, whereas Google Earth depends on precise aerial and satellite tv for pc images, providing a unique type of realism primarily based on real-world imagery relatively than absolutely rendered graphics.
Flying beneath the Golden Gate Bridge is feasible in Google Earth’s flight simulator.
The photorealism is the very best a part of Google Earth’s flight sim. The controls are too easy for skilled flight sim gamers, and they could be a little janky at occasions, making management of your digital plane irritating. Aside from the thrust settings, there are not any further customization options. This was supposed to be a light-weight, novelty expertise, not a severe flight simulator.
That mentioned, its simplicity is a part of its attraction. Pausing for quarter-hour in a busy day to glide over a soccer discipline or descend towards Mount Rushmore—freely accessible from a browser tab and with out the necessity for specialised gaming {hardware}—stays a quietly outstanding expertise.
