This week, we're pleased to share an updated Development Roadmap which you can find below. A few highlights include:
City Update 06: Southwest Germany and Local Legend 15: Dornier Do 31 are both releasing next week on April 17!
Sim Update 15 and the Airbus A320neo (V2) are tentatively targeted for a full release on April 30.
Speaking of Sim Update 15, last Friday we released a new test build to those players enrolled in the optional public beta. You can find the release notes for this build on our forums here. Once again, we would like to thank everyone participating in the pre-release test for your timely feedback and bug reports. If you would like to join the public beta test, you can find instructions (for PC/MS Store, PC/Steam, and Xbox Series X|S) here.
Our next Developer Livestream is scheduled for April 24th at 10:30am PDT (1730 UTC). If you would like to pre-submit a question for our panel, please complete the form at this link. We will accept submissions until April 16th at 8:00am PDT (1500 UTC). Once the form is closed, our team will collate all your submissions to ensure the panel addresses the most frequently-asked questions from the community. As always, the livestream will be broadcast on our official Twitch channel, so please follow it to be notified when we go live if you have not already done so.
We are now accepting questions for our next Developer Livestream! If you would like to pre-submit a question for our panel, please complete the form at this link. Our team will collate all the submissions to ensure the panel addresses the most frequently-asked questions from the community. As always, the livestream will be broadcast on our official Twitch channel, so please follow it to be notified when we go live if you have not already done so.
Recently on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, we've been running daily MSFS Madness polls where the community can vote for their favorite aircraft in head-to-head matchups. Voters have eliminated half the field from the original starting 64, and we're now onto the Round of 32. Check out the updated tournament bracket below. Do you think there were any surprise upsets in the first round? Which aircraft are you hoping wins it all? Let us know in the forums! To participate in the voting yourself, follow our accounts on Twitter and Instagram. You can make your vote count twice by voting on both platforms!
Enjoy discounted pricing during our Microsoft Flight Simulator Spring Sale!
For 13 Days starting on March 29th, save up to 85% on more than 2250 items.
To purchase these discounted items, visit the Microsoft Flight Simulator Marketplace, select ‘Featured’, scroll down to ‘Special Offers’, then select ‘See All’ and look for the savings.
March 28th, 2024 Development Update
In case you missed it, we recently announced that the full release of Sim Update 15 (SU_15) will be slightly delayed from its earlier targeted release date of March 26. It's important that we take the time to get it right, and after careful consideration, the team concluded that SU_15 isn't quite ready yet. We're now targeting a release for some time in April (exact date TBD).
In other SU_15 news, we released a new pre-release test build to volunteer community beta testers earlier today. You can read the release notes for this build on our forums here. We want to once again thank everyone who has opted in to the SU_15 public test for your timely and detailed feedback and bug reports.
On the lighter side, there's an ongoing discussion on our forums where players are sharing their memories of their first flight simulator, either from the Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise or from another developer. Our Community Manager SeedyL responded thusly:
When I was a kid in the 1980s, my family had a Commodore VIC-20 and C64 with a variety of really primitive flight simulators. I was super young at the time and didn’t really know what I was doing in any of them.
The first memories I have of actually using a flight sim and feeling like it was a somewhat rough approximation of real flight came when I was a teenager in the 90s. By then, my family had swapped our C64 for an Intel 486-based Compaq Presario desktop running MS-DOS 6.0 and Windows 3.1. I had several popular flight sims from the era (both civilian and military) including:
Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.0
Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat
Falcon 3.0
Red Baron
Aces Over Europe
Aces of the Pacific
Flight Unlimited
Sierra Pro Pilot
Fly!
We also asked several other members of the team to share their earliest memories of participating in the flight simulation hobby. Here are their responses:
Khoi, Quality Engineer:
My first sim was Microsoft Flight Simulator 4 on a 386. Or at least that's the one I remember. It could have also been been Flight Simulator 1 (or 2). I have a fuzzy memory of playing it, but for sure Flight Simulator 4.
Tyler, Pilot Tester:
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 on a Dell laptop my dad gave me. I used to bring an E6B and take my laptop on roadtrips and try to "fly" our route while we drove it!
Scott, Customer Support Agent:
I dabbled in FSX on PC, but I learned how to fly (sorta) in WW2 Online, a 24-year old MMO. My OG flying game was "Blue Max" for the Commodore 64.
Many, many others in the team have their own stories and backgrounds with flight simulators and we've been enjoying reading everyone's responses. If you have anything share, check out the discussion and post your own story!
On Tuesday, we released the Dune Expansion, which is available now as a FREE download from the in-sim Marketplace! This optional package allows Microsoft Flight Simulator pilots to fly the Royal Atreides Ornithopter as seen in the upcoming film Dune: Part II from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Pilots can fly the ornithopter in both free flight anywhere in the world and in a series of new training missions and exciting challenges on the planet Arrakis.
Also this week, we launched the first pre-release public test build for the upcoming Sim Update 15 (SU_15)! To see the release notes, read our forum thread here. If you would like to join the optional public beta, you can find instructions here. The beta is available for players on PC/MS Store, PC/Steam, and Xbox Series X|S.
One of the biggest improvements included in SU_15 is Working Title's new implementation of the Garmin G3X Touch avionics suite. To learn more, please read the FAQ about the G3X in the SDK section of this blog post below.
Thank you to everyone who has enrolled in the beta and submitted feedback so far! We've received some excellent feedback after the first day of release, and we're looking forward to hearing more from participants as the public beta test progresses.
Xbox and Microsoft Flight Simulator unveil Dune Expansion & Floating Controller
Xbox and Microsoft Flight Simulator are immersing gamers worldwide in the captivating world of Arrakis, commemorating the highly anticipated release of “Dune: Part Two.” Enthusiasts can anticipate a free game expansion for Microsoft Flight Simulator launching, bespoke Xbox hardware, and an awe-inspiring gaming simulator-all intricately inspired by the film.
The team is currently hard at work preparing Sim Update 15, with the public beta test expected to start soon. If you missed the January 31 Developer Livestream, some of the announced improvements coming in SU15 include:
Memory optimizations
New G3X avionics implementation courtesy of Working Title
Support for multi-rotor helicopters
Overall stability and performance improvements
And more!
February 10 marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year! To everyone celebrating this holiday, the Microsoft Flight Simulator Community Team is proud to share this special video showcasing beautiful fireworks displays over several East Asian cities including Beijing, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Singapore, and more. We hope you enjoy it!
Lastly, in celebration of Black History Month we're spotlighting several Black content creators from the Microsoft Flight Simulator player community throughout February on our X / Twitter channel! So far we've highlighted Blu Games and Bel Geode. Keep your eyes out for more throughout the month!
On Tuesday, we released World Update XVI: Caribbean! Available now as a FREE download from the in-sim Marketplace, this World Update contains new Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, 104 hand-crafted points of interest, seven bespoke airports, and new Landing Challenges, Bush Trips, and Discovery Flights for the beautiful and scenic Caribbean region.
Also launching alongside the World Update was a new aircraft, Local Legend 14: Bell 47J Ranger. Available from the in-sim Marketplace for USD $14.99, this is the first time our Local Legend series has featured a rotorcraft. Check it out!
Yesterday, we were pleased to host another Developer Livestream. Our panel of Jorg, Seb, Martial, and special guest Dominik Gallus from Working Title answered many questions from the community and discussed upcoming new features and improvements coming soon to Microsoft Flight Simualtor, including some details about Sim Update 15 which is currently targeted for release in March.
If you missed watching the session live, you can catch the VOD below. We will also have a written transcript posted on our forums next week for those of you who prefer text to video.
Finally, we'd like to announce a special collaborative Twitch stream with our friends at Next Level Racing scheduled for next week. Everyone is welcome to join a group flight in Australia from Gold Coast to Sydney. During the broadcast, we'll be giving away several prizes, including the Grand Prize of a Next Level Racing Flight Simulator home cockpit (USD $799 value!). The event starts at 6pm PST on Wednesday, February 7 (0200 UTC on Thursday, February 8) on the Official MSFS Twitch channel. The full event details are available on our forums here. We'll see you Down Under!
Microsoft Flight Simulator Releases Local Legend 14: The Bell 47J Ranger
Microsoft Flight Simulator celebrates a historic era of rotary wing aviation with this Local Legend release!
BIRTH OF A LEGEND
The single-engine, four-seat Bell 47J Ranger is one of the most important and successful helicopters developed in the early era of rotary wing aviation. Renowned for its versatility, ruggedness, and reliability, the Ranger traces its development to the Golden Age of Flight, the period from the end of World War I to the beginning of World War II aeronautical technology enjoyed remarkable strides. In the late 1920s, American Arthur Young, inspired by flight innovations of the time, began independently experimenting with basic helicopter design. In 1941, after more than a decade of work on his own, Young joined the Bell Aircraft Company to develop a full-size, fully functioning helicopter.
Microsoft Flight Simulator Releases World Update XVI: Caribbean!
Explore the white sand beaches and emerald waters of one of the most beautiful regions on the planet!
The Caribbean, a seemingly endless series of islands mostly located just east of Central America between the North and South American continental land masses, is globally recognized as one of the most exotic and beautiful regions on the planet. The Microsoft Flight Simulator team is pleased to add World Update XVI: Caribbean to its long and growing list of global enhancements so that aviators can experience this storied part of the globe like never before.
