Today Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann revealed sales numbers for the majestic Antonov an-225 "Mriya" released a year ago for the simulator.
During a livestreamed broadcast, Neumann shared that the aircraft has sold nearly 100,000 units since its release on February 27, 2023. Specifically, 91,141 Microsoft Flight Simulator users purchased the aircraft across PC and Xbox.
All the proceeds from the sale of the aircraft will go to Antonov itself, and specifically, we hear that $1.5 million will be sent to the Ukrainian manufacturer.
While that's only 0.3% of the estimated $500 million required to bring back the largest and heaviest plane ever created, it certainly helps, and it's a great result for the Microsoft Flight Simulator community, honoring the memory of the aircraft.
The real Antonov An-225 "Mriya" held records as the heaviest plane in the world (628,317 pounds empty) and the one with the largest wingspan (290 ft), and was tragically destroyed in February 2022 during the Battle of Antonov Airport in the initial phase of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
While Russian forces were beaten back and sent into a humiliating retreat in the following months, the airport was severely damaged and the Mriya was found basically destroyed in the main hangar.
Since then, the Antonov An-225 has become one of the symbols of Ukraine's freedom and resistance against the invaders, and plans have been announced to rebuild it. Hopefully, the contribution of the flight simulation community will help with that effort.
If you'd like to read more about the initiative, you can check out our dedicated interview with Jorg Neumann himself. The aircraft was developed for Microsoft by popular third-party developer iniBuilds.
It's worth remembering that the war in Ukraine has affected many developers in the Microsoft Flight Simulator community, including Anton "TedStricker" Logvynenko, who passed away in November 2023 while defending his country on the front lines.
He was well-known for his beautiful freeware Ukrainian scenery including the Chornobyl area and the capital Kyiv.
As usual, here on TechRaptor, we publish daily Microsoft Flight Simulator news, and if you want to read more about the news shared on today's livestream (including Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 details) you can read our dedicated article.
