Today Microsoft hosted a livestream about its upcoming simulator Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, showcasing new aircraft and providing more information.
The stream starred developer Hans Hartmann, who showcased the aircraft he has worked on for the new simulator, alongside Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann.
We hear from Neumann an update on the physical collector’s edition, which has been delayed in Europe. In order to make up to those who pre-ordered it, if you did your pre-order before November 6, you’ll receive an email from distributor Aerosoft with a code for a month of Game Pass, which will give you access to the Standard Edition of the simulator.
After a day or so, you will also receive a code to upgrade to the Aviator Edition, so you’ll get access to all the content included in the collector’s edition while you wait for the physical delivery. Neumann thanked the users for their tolerance about this issue.
A new dev alpha has been delivered to developers today with fixes and improvements. That being said, Neumann mentioned that backward compatibility with existing add-ons is something Microsoft promised and takes very seriously.
They did a thorough outreach to partners and developers and the results are generally good with many add-ons that work with no problem. Yet, there are cases in which there are smaller visual issues, and some custom solutions implemented by some developers don’t work correctly.
As such, Neumann mentioned that the official marketplace is not going to be turned on immediately at release. It’ll come in a few weeks, so developers have more time to work on their existing add-ons before new purchases are made.
Of course, if you have already purchased any product on the official marketplace in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, you’ll be able to download and access it via the library immediately at launch, with the caveat that there may be issues before the developers fix them.
The Red Bull Challenges will also take a few weeks before they’re launched, as test pilots from Red Bull test the feature. The aircraft will be available at launch.
After that, we get to see the aircraft created by Hartmann, starting with the Pilatus PC-6/B2-H4 Turbo Porter. It includes the version with wheels, the version with skis, and the amphibious version with floats and wheels.
The liveries will remain the same as they were in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. We also get to see all of the features added for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 including the walkaround mode, the chocks, and covers.
You can watch it below.
The second aircraft is the De Havilland DHC-6-400 Twin Otter. It’ll include wheels, skis, and amphibious. It has a new model and a new sound package. Interestingly, we also get to see the visual wear and tear and dirt effects that can accumulate with use.
You can watch it below.
If you’d like to read more about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, which is coming for both PC and Xbox Series X|S on November 19, you can enjoy our hands-on preview with plenty of interesting details for your perusal.
You can also watch our interview with Head of MSFS Jorg Neumann and Asobo CEO Sebastian Wloch, another with Asobo CCO David Dedeine, and one featuring Chris Burnett of Working Title and Brandon Yaeger of Got Friends about their work on MSFS 2024.
Last, but not least, you can take a look at our A-10 flight through the Grand Canyon, our first look at the extensive pilot customization, another at the first mission of the Career Mode, a video featuring the new walk-around move showing off a Boeing 737 MAX up close and personal, and a challenge with the A-10 over the Blue Ridge Mountains.
