Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is being hit with extremely negative reviews on Steam after seemingly launching with extensive server issues, with users pointing to server loops, excessive loading times, and login queues as major issues, as well as problems with the game's cloud asset infrastructure.
Just yesterday, Microsoft and developer Asobo Studio released the latest iteration of the Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise, but it's already run into major issues, accruing an Overwhelmingly Negative rating on Steam across 2,955 reviews (at time of writing).
One of the biggest issues users seem to be pointing out has to do with how Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 loads its assets. Much of the game's asset loading, including for aircraft, liveries, and more, is tied to cloud streaming, and since servers are struggling, that seems to be leading to problems.
One player says they were stuck on a loading screen "for 65 minutes", with the screen freezing up at 97% and seemingly refusing to load any further than that.
Another points out some of the aforementioned issues and says Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 "feels like an alpha build", concluding that it "looks pretty and has potential but needs a lot of work". That's particularly damning for a game with a hefty asking price of $69.99.
The game's developers have said they are aware of the issue, dedicating a developer livestream to the problem earlier today. Microsoft Flight Simulator head Jorg Neumann said the team had "completely underestimated how high" pre-release excitement had been for the game.
Asobo Studio CEO Sebastian Wloch offers a technical explanation for the issues; players are asking Flight Simulator 2024's servers for data, which is then cached in a database, but said cache is "currently getting saturated".
Wloch says the team stress-tested Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's servers during the game's tech alpha, with the team performing load tests "simulating 200,000 users", but he concedes that the game has been "completely overwhelmed".
Community manager Jayne, also known as Jummivana, pledges to keep players updated via social media, and Neumann concludes the stream by apologizing to affected players, acknowledging that many are "frustrated" with the game's issues.
He says that although he knows the development team "had some problems today", the devs are "on it" and attempting to fix Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's issues. Unfortunately, though, for now, if you're stuck, it looks like there's no fix yet.
If you want to try your luck, you can grab Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 right now on PC via Steam or the Microsoft Store, as well as Xbox Series X|S. The game is also part of November's Xbox Game Pass lineup for PC Game Pass or Ultimate members.
Note: This story originally had a different title, but we've changed it to reflect an inaccurate term in said title.
