10 Best Flight and Dogfighting Games of 2026

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 earns the top spot because no other game here documents as much flying. The Steam page describes a career mode where you build a reputation and earn certifications for Medevac, remote cargo, aerial firefighting, search and rescue and airline passenger flights. The Standard Edition includes over 65 aircraft and 150 handcrafted airports, and a procedural system generates 40,000 airports and 80,000 helipads around the globe. Physics now handle more than 10,000 rigid-body surfaces, aircraft systems cover electrical, pneumatic, fuel and hydraulic models, and a built-in planner supports IFR and VFR routes. For variety there is the Challenge League and the Red Bull and Reno air races. The weak points are clear too: overall English Steam reviews are Mixed at 59%, although the last 30 days sit at 82%, and the minimum spec asks for 16 GB of RAM. It has no combat, so dogfighting fans should look lower on this list.

War Thunder is the strongest dogfighting pick for most players because it costs nothing to start and covers more aircraft eras than anything else here. Gaijin's Steam page lists over 3,000 aircraft, helicopters, tanks, warships and other vehicles built from historical documents, spread across 100 maps of major battle theaters. Air battles run at several difficulty settings, so a new player can start in arcade-style fights and later move to realistic and simulator battles. PC, Linux, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox players share the same servers, and there are PvE campaigns and solo missions for quieter sessions. The minimum spec is modest at 4 GB of RAM, and the game supports VR and full controller support. The catches: the game makes money from in-game purchases, overall English Steam reviews are Mostly Positive at 72%, and the last 30 days are Mixed at 68%. Players who only want planes will also share the game with tank and naval modes.

Project Wingman ranks third because it offers pure jet combat at the lowest paid price here and has one of the best player verdicts. Its Steam page pitches it to players who are not looking for a simulator, with pick-up-and-play controls and a single-player campaign set on an alternate-history Earth, from the Bering Strait to the Yellowstone magma fields. Conquest Mode adds replay value: you capture territory, fight boss and ace squadrons, buy aircraft and build a mercenary force, borrowing ideas from roguelikes and RPGs. Weapons include railguns and long-range missiles, and you can fly as an attack pilot or an interceptor. VR works in the cockpit, and the game has full controller support. Reviews are Overwhelmingly Positive at 95% of 12,622 English reviews. The limits: it is single-player only, it is not realistic in the simulator sense, and it runs on Windows only through Steam.

DCS World is the most detailed combat flight game on the list, and it is free to download. Eagle Dynamics describes it as a sandbox simulation that aims for the most authentic modeling of military aircraft, ground units and ships it can offer. The free package includes the Su-25T attack jet, the WWII TF-51D Mustang, and the Caucasus and Mariana Islands maps, along with a Mission Editor, hundreds of AI weapons systems and network play. Thousands of online servers host PvP and PvE, and Multi-Crew lets two players share one aircraft. Paid modules such as the F/A-18C Hornet, F-16C Viper and AH-64D add full study-level aircraft, and the regions listed on Steam also include Normandy 1944, Syria and the Persian Gulf. Reviews are Very Positive at 84%. It ranks fourth because the learning curve is steep and the hardware bar is the highest here: 16 GB of RAM, an 8 GB graphics card and 200 GB of storage.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is the most polished arcade dogfighting game here, and the one most likely to suit players who want a story. Bandai Namco's Steam page describes a flight shooter with realistic handling, a large selection of real aircraft and 360 degrees of movement, set in the fictional nations of Strangereal where unmanned aircraft threaten the balance of power. Each aircraft can be customized with parts and ordnance, and weather changes matter: thunderstorms and sun glare can affect your HUD and instruments. Online, teams fight in Battle Royal and Death Match modes. Player reviews are Very Positive at 89% of 23,483, and Steam lists full controller support. It ranks below Project Wingman mostly on value, because $59.99 is more than twice the price of that game for a release from 2019. It is also an arcade game, so simulator fans will find its physics forgiving.

X-Plane 12 is the serious alternative to Microsoft Flight Simulator for players who care about flight models and platform choice. Laminar Research has built X-Plane since 1995, and the Steam page highlights real-world physics, deep aircraft systems, volumetric clouds and a live weather system fed by global meteorological data. Photometric lighting renders surfaces with real light intensities, and the scenery now has 3D trees, reactive water and more than 20,000 3D airports from the community X-Plane Gateway. New aircraft include the Airbus A330, Cessna Citation X, BETA ALIA-250, F-14 Tomcat and Robinson R22. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, supports VR, and its minimum spec of 8 GB of RAM and 23 GB of storage is lighter than its main rival's. Reviews are Very Positive at 87%, though from only 3,217 English reviews. It ranks below Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 because it lacks a documented career mode and the onboarding a casual player gets there.

VTOL VR has the highest player rating on this list, with 98% of 17,173 English Steam reviews positive. Boundless Dynamics built it specifically for virtual reality: you reach out to the stick and throttle with tracked controllers, flip switches, press buttons and even pull the eject handle, so no extra flight hardware is needed. The fleet is small but varied, with the AV-42C tilt-jet, the F/A-26 fighter and attack jet and the F-45A stealth STOVL jet. Missions include carrier operations, aerial refueling and vertical landings, and systems cover radar, targeting pods, flares, chaff and a head-mounted cueing system. Built-in mission, campaign and map editors feed Steam Workshop, and online multiplayer supports PvP and PvE. It ranks seventh because it requires a PC VR headset, offers only three fictional aircraft and asks players to learn real cockpit interactions, which slows the start.

Infinite Flight is the pick for anyone who wants to fly on a phone or tablet. The developer calls it a mobile flight simulator for iOS and Android, and the free download includes sample aircraft and regions along with ILS and navigation data, SIDs and STARs, autopilot with LNAV, VNAV and autoland on select aircraft, weight and balance, and a logbook with replays. The Pro subscription opens multiplayer and global flight, dozens of aircraft with over 1,000 livery combinations, 15 m per pixel satellite terrain, live weather, SimBrief integration and EFB Link for ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot. Its multiplayer servers have human air traffic controllers, and you can act as a controller rather than a pilot. On the US App Store, Pro costs $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year, and the app is rated 4.3 from about 29,000 ratings. It ranks eighth because full use requires a subscription and it has no combat, but nothing else here works on a phone.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad is the WWII simulator on this list, for players who want historical dogfights with realistic flight models rather than War Thunder's broader mix. The Steam page describes new physics, more realistic aerodynamics and detailed aircraft systems. Its single-player Career mode lets you serve in a fighter, attack or bomber squadron and rise from new pilot to squadron commander, and if you own Battle of Moscow and Battle of Kuban too, one character can fly from the winter of 1941 to 1943. Quick Mission mode builds custom fights in a few minutes, and multiplayer runs on player-controlled dedicated servers with team battles, dogfight duels and co-op. VR is supported. Reviews are Mostly Positive at 79%. It ranks ninth because it is harder to set up than the arcade games, recommends a flight stick, needs 16 GB of RAM, and sells other theaters separately. Its US price on Steam showed a temporary discount when we checked, so we list the price as pending.

Star Wars: Squadrons is on the list for players whose idea of dogfighting includes X-wings and TIE fighters. EA's Steam page describes first-person space battles in which pilots from the New Republic and Imperial fleets fight 5v5 matches with tactical objectives, plus a single-player story told from both sides after Return of the Jedi. You can modify your starfighter, change your squadron's composition, and divert power between weapons, shields and engines from inside the cockpit. The whole game can be played in VR, and Steam lists full controller support and a keyboard-only option. The minimum PC is modest at 8 GB of RAM. It ranks last because player reviews are Mixed at 67% of 19,174 English reviews, its last 30 days are lower at 47%, and it is space combat rather than flying aircraft, which is what most people on this list want.