We’re nearing the end of the year and now is a great time to have a look back at 2023 for DCS World. And what a year it has been! In this piece I’m going to have a look at how things have gone over the year and what we can expect next year.

Content through 2023

DCS World has had a pretty good year this year, albeit one that has been a bit more foundational that we’ve been used to in recent history.

On one hand, the sim has seen some major core system updates that are set to pave the way for some exciting future possibilities. On the other, we’ve seen what feels like a little less new content coming our way this year than in past years. It’s not to say that we haven’t had some exciting new things but this year felt a little more focused on the core than the last few. That’s not a bad thing either as its what many have called for.

The biggest headlining core updates were the the release of a new multi-core system followed by support for nVidia’s DLSS. Both have boosted the potential for DCS World to perform. Your mileage will vary of course depending on the system that you have but many have reported big increases in frame rates and smoothness of the sim thanks to these changes. That’s really great news for sure! On the other hand, we know multiplayer server performance remains an ongoing issue for many communities so its not there yet. Still, strides are strides and DCS made some big ones this year.

Though it felt like content was a little thinner this year, its not like we didn’t see some significant additions. My feelings may even be a bit off on this one as we actually did see quite a bit come our way.

Two new maps came to DCS World and I start with DCS: Sinai. This is the first entry by developer OnReTech and they managed to deliver the first two phases of their ambitious goals for this map. It’s one that spanned a wide area of North Africa and into the Middle East giving us both new and familiar territory to fly over.

For those looking at greener pastures, Ugra Media provided us with DCS World’s best WWII map to date. The excellent DCS: Normandy 2 improved visually on the older variants of the map while extending the map to Paris and London. Normandy 2 has made DCS WWII into a far better experience than what the previous Normandy 1944 and The Channel Maps offered with their more limited scopes – though The Channel still has some unique features and areas not yet offered by Ugra’s offering.

We weren’t absent new module releases this year either. RAZBAM delivered on their promise of 2023 being the “year of the Strike Eagle” as they repeated many times throughout the first part of the year. The F-15E arrived and it came packaged with a decent amount of capability out of the box with numerous bug fixes and some additional features added later. The aircraft has already picked up JDAMs and will soon sport a more complete IFF system as well as the stand-off JSOW weapon as well.

We saw Aerges deliver on their promise to add additional variants of the Mirage F1 to the mix with the more advanced Mirage F1 EE early in the year and then the two-seater Mirage F1 BE in the fall. There were a few new weapons and new systems added to the jet as well with promises for next year including a revamped radar screen, IFF, and new external textures as well as the modernized Mirage F1M which should bridge the gap for the module from a purely Cold War era type to something that can co-exist a little more easily alongside more modern types too.

Over the course of the year we also heard from Red Star Simulations on their MiG-17 project, India Foxt Echo on their G.91 and MB-339 updates, some significant progress on the DCS: A-7 project by FlyingIron Simulations, and others on their projects.

There was no lack of activity in 2023 but, as I wrote earlier, was more about laying the groundwork for 2024 and beyond. This also means, as we learned from the VIAF interview with Nick Grey, that we should be in for some exciting things into the future. Speaking of which…

2024 and beyond

There is always something to look forward to in DCS World and if Eagle Dynamics follows their usual pattern, we’ll be seeing a DCS World 2024 and Beyond video coming up soon. Very soon!

Last year we saw them reveal that a CH-47 Chinook helicopter was on the way and there was a small tease for an F6F Hellcat. It seems likely that the rest of Eagle Dynamics is also busy working on core updates and on modules that have already released – modules such as the AH-64D, F-16C, A-10C, Mi-24, Ka-50 and F/A-18C all which saw updates through the year.

In 2024, I expect the AH-64D will reach towards a more complete state while tweaks to the rest of their active modules will bring them further along as well. One thing is clear with DCS modules that the work never really ends and there’s always more to do. Still, some modules like the F/A-18C have seen the majority of their goals achieved and so 2024 is more holding action with minor additions.

Not everything went according to plan this year and some content has been pushed in 2024. Its par for the course with such complex software and its just how things go sometimes. I go back to the first update from Eagle Dynamics in the new year as our guide on what was on target for 2023 and what was not.

We believe that 2023 will be a truly exciting year for all, with the introduction of eagerly awaited modules like the DCS: F-4E by Heatblur, DCS: F-15E by RAZBAM, DCS: OH-58D Kiowa Warrior by Polychop, DCS: F4U-1D Corsair by Magnitude 3, DCS: C-130J by the Airplane Simulation Company, new Mirage F1 versions by Aerges, DCS: Normandy 2.0 map by Ugra Media, the DCS: Sinai Map by OnReTech, and more!

To be fair to everyone involved, we did get most of the planned list but there are a few exceptions that I’m sure will be memorable.

Heatblur are close to delivering their F-4E Phantom II for DCS World and provided us with a stunning presentation not that long ago. Their early access launch is expected to happen over the next 3 months and what we saw of the module was groundbreaking in more than a few ways. That, together with Heatblur’s strong reputation for quality modules suggests that this is one worth waiting for. Meanwhile, less was said about the Typhoon and A-6 but we know they are coming eventually (2025 and beyond).

Also on the list is Magnitude 3’s DCS: F4U Corsair. Things have been quiet from them throughout the year, though an annual update back in October gave us new insights into their long in development F4U Corsair project. The team are, it appears, also working on making sure that the F4U has something to fight with an AI A6M Zero teased in some screenshots. Even a Ki-84 has appeared in one such teaser. Work is still ongoing and I’m not sure if this is a 2024 project or not.

Then we have Polychop and their two helicopter projects. The developers delivered a major overhaul of their first module, the SA-342 ‘Gazelle,’ over the last year with the revised helicopter sporting an almost entirely new flight model and a series of other updates and changes. There was even a new trailer released in the last day providing a new cinematic look at the helicopter.

Not much has been learned over the course of the year on the OH-58D though this year did see a late update talking about their quiet behind the scenes work on the project including the takeover of a new coding team that is helping to push the project towards completion. Read that update here if you missed it before.

I also expect that we’ll see more from developers like Red Star Simulations on their MiG-17, Flying Iron Simulations on their A-7, Octopus G with their La-7, Deka Ironworks on their J-8II, Crosstail Simulatons and their A-1 Skyraider and Grinnelli Designs on their F-100. Other projects are out there in various states of movement. Some, like Aviron and their Kfir project are reportedly (going by Discord chats) still moving but much more slowly because of real world issues. This should be another big year for RAZBAM with the F-15E development continuing through a series of updates and potentially another module release with the MiG-23MLA. 2024 could be the year that their South Atlantic map reaches closer to its full potential too!

Are there unrevealed modules in the works? I’ve speculated many times about a full fidelity MiG-29 based on clues and hints left to us by Eagle Dynamics. On the other hand, current geopolitical issues may cast long shadows over any chance of that in the near term. The team may also be putting in some more effort into Cold War era aircraft and assets, some already released and new, to fill some gaps in what has become quite a popular multiplayer experience. We know that an F-5 revamp is in the works so we may yet see that in 2024 as well.

Core updates are also looking to be a big thing. With the Supercarrier finally picking up its briefing room, we may hopefully see a move in the future towards more immersive briefing environments. Even bigger will hopefully be some more reveals of the sim’s long sought after dynamic campaign system – detailed in the most recent dev update.

There’s no shortage of things to look forward to plus its important to remember the fantastic things we already have. There’s no shortage of those either!

Final thoughts

Plans don’t always survive contact with reality and the turbulence of the real world in the last few years has had all kinds of effects on developer efforts. DCS World projects are complex, time consuming, expert level efforts that bring together programmers, artists, physics and aerodynamics experts and more to make these projects a reality. That they happen at all is still, to me, a minor miracle. I hope for some more miracles to go in a positive direction in this new year!

Look for Eagle Dynamics to release their cinematic spectacular 2024 and Beyond video sometime in the next couple of weeks. Watch for the ending as they love to leave us with teasers and tidbits of what is coming next.

What were your highlights for 2023 with DCS World? What are you looking forward to in the new year? Let me know in the comments!