Hello and welcome back to my blog site. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably already watched the brand new release trailer which Microsoft released over the weekend regarding their brand new Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The announced release date is 19 November 2024. I’ve watched this trailer now about a half dozen times and very much like what I see. Of course, I liked what I saw from the very first teaser from last year.
Backing up the Truck
Before I dive into a few things that I’m thinking about after watching the new trailer several times, let me just point you all to a blog article I wrote earlier this year on the subject of MSFS 2024. This article covers the why behind Microsoft’s decision to release a brand new sim only four years after MSFS2020. Of course I also talk about a few other things and if you missed it, now would be a good time to go read it.
Thoughts and Concerns
Over the past few days I’ve watched many videos from other flight sim content creators breaking down the new trailer video. From what I’ve seen across many videos, the concerns of these content creators can be broken down into these following categories. #1 Flight Model, #2 Old add-on compatibility and #3 new projects slated for MSFS 2020. Let me break these down and provide my thoughts for each.
Flight Model
I’m not a real world pilot of any sort. Over the past 4 years I’ve heard many complain about the poor flight modeling in MSFS. Many state that this is the primary reason they do not use MSFS 2020. Microsoft have stated that there will be an advanced flight model in MSFS 2024. As for how advanced it will be compared to MSFS 2020, well….we’ll just have to wait and see. But I believe Microsoft and Asobo have listened to us and will deliver a better flight model in the new sim.
Old/Existing MSFS2020 Add-on Compatibility
Microsoft have stated multiple times that old/existing add-ons for MSFS2020 should work in the new sim. Of course, what we don’t know is whether this is day one compatibility or whether it will take the 3rd party developers some time to work on. I think with scenery, it should only consist of minor tweaks to make it compatible. However, for 3rd party aircraft….this could take some additional time especially if the flight model changes between MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024. It is worthy to note that 3rd party developers are just as much in the dark as we are when it comes to MSFS 2024. At the present time, Microsoft have not released any details which could be used to help speed up the process of getting 3rd party add-ons into MSFS 2024.
New Projects
As the sun is starting to quickly set on MSFS 2020, there are concerns by many that un-released 3rd party add-ons (specifically aircraft) which were slated to be released in MSFS 2020 will be bumped to MSFS 2024. Many are pointing towards the news that Aerosoft’s long awaited Airbus A330 which was supposed to come out for MSFS 2020 is now being delayed and will only release for MSFS 2024.
To be perfectly honest, the example of the Aerosoft A330 is the only project I’ve heard about that is being delayed to MSFS 2024. Bluebird Simulations still plans to release their Boeing 757 for MSFS 2020 with a free update to MSFS 2024. The PMDG Boeing 777 is on short-final and should release sometime this summer for MSFS 2020. Considering for me personally….I’m not planning on buying the Aerosoft so their decision doesn’t impact me at all.
Final Thoughts
As I’ve stated before, MSFS 2024 most likely will be a day one purchase for me. However, I have low expectations that my favorite 3rd party aircraft (specifically the PMDG 737 and Fenix A320) will be ready to install in the new sim on day one. No one knows at this point in time the level of effort needed for the 3rd party developers to make existing add-ons ready for MSFS 2024, nor do we know with any level of accuracy how much these updates/upgrades will cost us. For me personally, I’m willing to pay a small update price for existing add-ons for MSFS 2024. But I’m not willing at this point in time to re-purchase at full price. My investment in MSFS 2020 at the present time is in the thousands of dollars. But it’s waaaaayyyy too early to get the cart ahead of the horse at this point in time. So I invite you to join me in just sitting back and taking a wait and see attitude with this. Because that’s really all we can do at this time.
One more thought
One more thought came to my mind as I was wrapping this all up. It truly is in Microsoft’s best interest to have developed MSFS 2024 in such a way that requires minimal 3rd party development work to make add-ons compatible in the new sim. The reason I say this, is many will wait before purchasing MSFS 2024 until some time has passed to see how 3rd party developers react to the new sim and what level of effort is required AND what, if any upgrade cost might need to be passed along to consumers. If the level of effort is high enough for developers to have to charge full-price for add-on upgrades then I think most will just stay on MSFS 2020.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on what I’ve discussed here today. Leave a comment and let me know.
Until next time…
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry