Does Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 include the entire world, and how accurate is it?

MSFS 2024 world coverage & accuracy (what to expect)

Yes — MSFS 2024 is built to cover the entire world in the sim. The important bit is how it represents that world and what “accuracy” really means in practice.

1) What’s included (global coverage)
The sim includes worldwide terrain elevation, coastlines, rivers, roads, and landclass/landcover, plus buildings and vegetation placement. In most places, you’ll have something that looks like a believable “real world” layout from altitude and down into the pattern/low-level VFR environment.

2) How accurate is it, really?
It depends on what you mean by accuracy:

• Position/shape of terrain — generally very good, but resolution varies by region.
• Satellite/aerial imagery — can range from sharp to blurry depending on where you are (and sometimes the imagery is older, so new neighborhoods/roads may not match today).
• Buildings — in many areas you’ll see “autogen” buildings (plausible shapes placed from map data), and in some cities you’ll see “photogrammetry” where buildings look like the real structures but can have melted/warped artifacts up close.

3) “Will I see my house?”
Most likely you’ll see something where your house should be, but whether it looks like your exact house is a coin toss:

• If your area has photogrammetry, your neighborhood may resemble the real one fairly closely from a distance, but close up it can look messy/soft (especially roofs, trees, and fine details).
• If your area uses autogen, you’ll usually get the right “footprint vibe” of a neighborhood, but the sim will often substitute a generic house model that’s the right size/height rather than your exact architecture.
• Expect things like fences, sheds, parked cars, patio furniture, etc. to be hit-or-miss. That level of “backyard detail” is not the sim’s strong point.

4) How they do it (in plain English)
It’s a combination of:

• Terrain elevation data to shape the ground.
• Aerial/satellite imagery draped over that terrain.
• Map/vector data (roads, water, building footprints) to place objects.
• Procedural generation to fill in buildings/trees where it doesn’t have true 3D scans.
• Photogrammetry in select areas, which is essentially a 3D reconstruction made from lots of photos.

5) What affects what you see on your PC
Even if the “world data” exists, what you actually see can change based on:

• Your internet connection (streaming quality) and whether the sim is able to load higher-detail data.
• Your graphics settings (level of detail sliders have a big impact on how far out objects remain detailed).
• Whether you have photogrammetry enabled (if the sim provides it for your region).
• Any manual cache/offline settings you might use.

A couple quick questions so I can tailor the answer to your situation:

• Are you planning to run it on PC or Xbox?
• What country/state is your house in (roughly), and are you hoping for photogrammetry-level accuracy or just “recognizable from the pattern”?
• When you say “level of detail,” do you mean from 3,000–5,000 ft AGL (VFR sightseeing) or right down at street level?