Today Microsoft hosted a livestream to detail its plans for the upcoming updates for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
During the broadcast, we heard from the head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann, Asobo chief executive officer Sebastian Wlock, and executive producer Martial Bossard.
Neumann started by mentioning that the Antonov An-225 is the fastest-selling aircraft ever on the official marketplace of the simulator and soon Microsoft will announce solid sale numbers. Interestingly, we also hear that those who purchased the Deluxe and Premium Deluxe editions of Microsoft Flight Simulator will get a 33% discount on DLC aircraft released directly by Microsoft going forward.
World Update 13 has been announced, and it's Oceania. The main developer is Orbx and it includes 13 countries and 28 sovereign territories, on top of Antarctica and Hawaii (of which Microsoft is trying to get photogrammetry, while the DEM data is great with 1-meter resolution). Of course, Australia and New Zealand aren't included since they already had their own World Updates.
Below you can check out a list of the features, airports, points of interest, and activities, on top of a series of screenshots. The plan is to release the update in late April and at the moment the target date is April 25.
We then get a glimpse at the trailer being created for the ATR 42/72-600, which will be the first of the "Expert Series" aircraft and will be released at the same time as the World Update. We also see a presentation focusing on the avionics by Hans Hartmann who is creating the add-on. You can watch both below.
Speaking of the official in-sim marketplace, Microsoft is exploring ways to consider the quality of content, so that developers creating high-quality content won't get a lower priority compared to developers creating low-quality content.
On top of that, the submission of empty packages to claim a spot in the publication queue on the official marketplace will be forbidden, preventing developers from gaming the system.
Microsoft is also hiring new people to work on the marketplace and continuing to listen to feedback from the community and developers to iterate on the policies and procedures to make the feature the best that it can be.
We then hear about a pleasant surprise. Microsoft Flight Simulator will be present at FlightSimExpo, which will happen between June 23 and June 25 at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston, Texas. Both Microsoft and Asobo will be present with a large exhibition space. You can find more information about the event on its official website.
Below you can check out the latest version of the roadmap of upcoming updates and releases, including quite a few surprises that are still to be announced.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is currently available for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, including Game Pass. If you'd like to learn more, you should stay tuned on TechRaptor as we have daily Microsoft Flight Simulator news to keep you updated on the many add-ons coming and released for the sim. We have also recently interviewed Microsoft's Jorg Neumann about the Antonov An-225 "Mriya" and reviewed Orbx's Oslo Gardermoen Airport and RHDSimulations' Boeing 767-300ER.
