Back in October, Microsoft announced a change in policies opening the door for cosmetic weapons on the official Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 marketplace. Now that change is becoming effective, also for the original Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Developers Indiafoxtecho and Aeroplane Heaven announced that they’re finally being allowed to upload aircraft with cosmetic weapons to update their existing products on the marketplace.
On top of that, the change also involves non-aircraft content, like Indiafoxtecho’s Ford and Nimitz carriers.
This means that soon virtual pilots who purchase their add-ons on the official marketplace will be able to carry on-functional missiles and weapons on Indiafoxtecho’s F-35, T-45, F-14, M-346, and Tornado, on top of Aeroplane Heaven’s P-47, P-51, and Hurricane.
It’s worth mentioning that the F-35 will have weapons only on PC due to restrictions on the Xbox Series S.
That being said, this change is relevant mostly for Xbox users, considering that PC users were already able to purchase aircraft with weapons on alternative marketplaces run by third-party publishers.
It’ll likely take a few days for the updates to pass Microsoft’s injection process, but the wait is almost over. Of course, these changes will also extend to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, but the official marketplace on the new simulator is still closed, so we’ll need to wait until it opens.
Some may wonder why this change in policy is so relevant, considering that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024 don’t involve any combat, unlike military simulators like DCS World.
Yet, the ability to carry non-functional weapons is important as they’re often carried in non-combat missions, and they radically affect an aircraft’s flight envelope by changing its weight and balance.
This is why many fans of military aviation have been protesting the ban on weapons pretty much since the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Microsoft has finally listened to the feedback and checked its contracts. After verifying that cosmetic weapons did not cause any legal problems, they changed their stance.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is currently available for PC and Xbox Series X|S.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available for the same platforms, and if you want to see the visual differences against Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, you can enjoy our video and screenshot comparison.
You can also check out our in-depth analysis of how much data the simulator downloads from the cloud, clearing the air from some widespread misinformation that made the rounds over the past few weeks.
You can also watch our latest interview with Jorg Neumann, the previous interview with Neumann himself and 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.
