As 2023 draws to a close, it’s time to have a look at the last year in simulation. This year I’m starting with Microsoft Flight Simulator with a look back at just some of the things that came up throughout the year as well as talking about what I expect in 2024. There’s quite a bit to this so lets get to it!

The core of the sim

While we look back at the last year, it’s important to consider that in many ways this is the big finish for Microsoft Flight Simulator from 2020. Though it sounds like Microsoft intends to keep the sim alive for quite some time yet, its sequel is in the works and expected to launch next year. Still, I can’t help but think that Microsoft and Asobo have made sure that MSFS 2020 is going out on a strong note with the sim with it picking up new features and new content such as the revamped SR22T, the new lighting system, and A320neo V2 just to name some key pieces.

Continuing the trend from the previous years, this year we saw Microsoft and Asobo double down on ensuring that the world of Microsoft Flight Simulator was as detailed as possible. World Updates for this year included New Zealand, Oceania, Central Europe, and Nordics and Greenland. City Updates were more prolific this year than last covering France, Texas, and Western Europe.

This year was big for aircraft releases as well. Local Legends included the DHC-4 Caribou (reviewed here), Latécoère 631, Boeing 307 Stratoliner, Aero Ae-45/145 (reviewed here), Dornier Do X, and Saab B 17 (reviewed here). Famous Flyers started off with the An-225 and then went on to the An-2 (reviewed here), ATR 42-600/72-600 (reviewed here), Ford 4AT Trimotor (reviewed here), Mitsubishi MU-2 (reviewed), and Cessna T207A Turbo Stationair.

We also saw some significant updates to core content. Lead by the developers at Working Title, Microsoft Flight Simulator’s default business jets and then airliners got a workover with the Cessna CJ4 and Citation Latitude seeing some big upgrades. The same happened with the 747-8i and 787-10. And then even the GA aircraft were updated with the Cirrus SR22T being added as a much higher fidelity representation of the original SR22.

Unexpectedly, a mod in the middle part of the year spurred Asobo and Microsoft to correct some atmospheric scattering and colour shading issues in the sim. In the end they ended up pulling in some code from the next gen sim, MSFS 2024, and brought part of it back to the older sim. They also dramatically reduced the horizontal line that was sometimes visible on the horizon. The result is a sim that is visually more impressive than ever and, barring some unique combinations, its also a sim that seems to be mostly running better than ever before – for most users of course.

One thing that was planned but has been delayed is the Dune movie tie-in. Asobo and Microsoft have created an ornithopter from Denis Villeneuve’s retelling of the Dune book series. The free update was scheduled to come out this fall alongside the movie but with the movie being delayed to 2024, the update is too.

The future is coming and the next iteration of the sim is on its way. While the reveal trailer has been heavy on activities to do within the sim, I think we’re just scratching the surface of what Asobo and Microsoft have planned here and so I think the next several months will be very interesting as they begin to show what they have planned.

GA, military and helicopters

Third party developers had what I hope was a successful year. It looked like they were from the outside to be sure with a huge number of releases and lots of buzz within the community.

We could be here all day as I list out various third party aircraft that released this year. Some standout releases in the general aviation and helicopter space have included A2A’s Commache, SimWorks Studios PC-12 and RV-10 (reviewed here), Big Radial’s Norseman (reviewed here), Black Square’s TBM 850, the release of the 222B, 500E and H125 by CowanSim, and Hype Performance Group’s H160. FSS also released their Tecnam P2012 which seems to be packed full of features – will have to check that one out soon.

There’s also been some terrific military focused releases this year including GotFriend’s excellent F4F Wildcat (reviewed here), IndiaFoxtEcho and Heatblur’s F-14, and Just Flight’s Vulcan.

Airliners

Airliners had a pretty good year this year. The year was bookended by E-Jets releases by Flight Sim Studio AG. Their E175 came early in January and that was followed later by the E170 in the same package. A separate package was released this December featuring the E190 and E195 and the team plans to increase realism with a custom FMC and VNAV support by the middle of next year. It hasn’t been a satisfying product to all due to some of its missing features but the discounted price and early access promises are mostly (though not entirely) on track. I have high hopes for 2024 from this group.

This year we saw PMDG finally get their EFB tablet system integrated into their 737 line-up and release the stretched 737-900 to the sim as well. Most of the other updates to their product line were small incremental fixes to minor bugs. 2024 promises to be a much bigger year for the group.

JustFlight’s airliner efforts went well this with the Fokker F28 release and continued development taking place on the BAe 146. The F28 was a particular standout for me with the older airliner coming in packed with details and old school airliner systems to operate. Next year we expect to see some follow-ups with a modernized 146, the Avro RJ, potentially releasing along with the Fokker 70/100.

Microsoft also made a splash of their own this year with the release of their first Expert Series airplane in the form of the ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600. With such a low price, this first aircraft in the series made reasonably high fidelity airliner experiences open to more people than usual.

The year has ended with the release of the A300-600 by iniBuilds. With impressive features and middle market price, the developer is sure to turn some heads and it sounds like iniBuilds is just getting started as they have indicated that the A350-900 and -1000 are due by the end of 2024 and they are also the team responsible for the not quite released A320neo V2 coming for free to everyone with MSFS.

The new year

2024 is going to be a big year for Microsoft Flight Simulator. I’ve already mentioned 2024 quite a bit already but there’s an even longer list of products coming. An already released roadmap shows that the team are going full throttle in the new year with new content including World Updates, Famous Flyers, Local Legends and more.

We’re also going to be looking forward to a release, sometime, of the next sim in the series with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 set to bring new features, graphics and abilities forward.

Microsoft and Asobo have both been keen to say that the new sim will be everything 2020 is and more and that nearly every product that has been released for 2020 will be fully compatible with the next generation. From what I understand, 2024’s release won’t be the end of 2020 either though we’ll have to see exactly what they plan to do when we get there.

Tons of new products are on the way in 2024 as well. Highlights for me include Just Flight’s Tornado and PA-38, SimWorks Studios Kodiak 900 (the newest addition to the Kodiak series) on the military and GA side of things. I don’t think anything has been announced yet but A2A’s Comanche 250 will surely see some follow-up eventually and 2024 may be the year that they release a similar product with the incredible level of fidelity we’ve seen there.

BlackBird simulations talked a lot about the work that they are doing recently for the new year with the T-6A trainer, SR-71, C-130, and UH-1 all planned.

For airliners there’s a lot coming this year that should be spectacular. iniBuild’s have just released their A300-600 with additional updates for that product scheduled through the year including additional avionics and engine options. Another A300, an earlier model, is coming from Just Flight.

PMDG’s typically tight lipped on when they are doing things but their first 777 release, a 777-200, is expected early in the new year and they’ve teased that multiple products from both 777 lines and 737 lines are coming heading into 2024. Comments from PMDG and speculation from the community have many of us believing that a series of 737 MAX releases are due as well.

Fenix too had some interesting things to say through 2023 but its looking like next year before the next phase of their plans for their highly regarded A320 come to fruition.

Bluebird Simulations is a developer that many of us got to know over the last year but 2024 looks like it will be a big year for the development group. Their high fidelity 757 is due out sometime this year followed by a 767 at some point following that (not necessarily in 2024).

Freeware experiences for airliners are also growing these days too. FlyByWire showed off a little more of their A38nx project this year and teased some big updates for the A32nx project. Meanwhile, Headwinds A330-900neo project is well on its way to getting a new higher detailed interior and exterior. Another freeware group, Synaptic Simulations, had a pretty good reveal of their progress on an A220 in 2023 and hopefully we’ll see it up and flying at some point in 2024. A bunch of 787 freeware modifications including the Kuro 787-8 and Horizon 787-9 are well into development too.

Future is bright!

In short, MSFS future seems extremely bright going into 2024 with more high fidelity options than ever before and plenty of cheap medium fidelity releases providing a wide range of simmers with great solutions. The marketplace does have its darksides with some less desireable products also on tap but the sheer volume of options gives consumers plenty to choose from – buyer beware as always!

I’m very excited about the prospects of what the next generation of the series will offer and very hopeful that we’ll see even the older sim, MSFS 2020, continue to receive care and attention too. 2024 should be a great year for this series and for the eco system that has been building up around it.

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