We’ve got a new Development Update out from the folks at Microsoft and Asobo Studio and we’ve got a bit of news around Sim Update 15. Is it actually going to come out? Likely so! Plus a look at their updated roadmap ahead.

Sim Update 15 news

The last sim update for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 for a while is nearly here with Sim Update 15 set to bring plenty of big and small changes. A whole new memory manager promises some potential performance improvements, iniBuilds A320neo will be freely available to all, and a litany of other updates.

The latest test build, version 1.37.18.0, contains several bug fixes and the removal of an updated GDK for Xbox users that seemed to be causing some issues. With these latest changes, their analytics are apparently telling them that overall stability is up so that’s good news.

According to today’s update, this latest beta version of Sim Update 15 will be the last update barring any blocking items (significant problems that cause them to do another build and test) which means that we should be seeing the update soon.

Sim Update 15 on the latest roadmap is now slated for the 23rd of May so we’ll see if they hit the date. Fingers are crossed!

The road ahead

An updated roadmap graphic gives us a sense of what we can expect next with the sim. Today we saw a small patch update for the sim with a new AIRAC (Aeronautical Information Regulation And Control) cycle introduced into the sim.

The first big date on the roadmap is May 23rd with Sim Update 15 bundled together with the release of the new iniBuilds A320neo and the the new A320neo Discovery Video. Both Sim Update 15 and the new A320neo have gone through their share of troubles in the beta testing process so lets hope for a smooth launch for both of them!

On May 28th we can expect to see the release of European Cities II and Local Legend 16: Short Skyvan. Cities II includes new photogammetry for Barcelona, Madrid, Nice, Monte Carlo, Porto, and Stockholm. Meanwhile, iniBuilds are set to release the Short Skyvan which promises to be an interesting little utility aircraft.

That’s not all because Famous Flyer 10 is set to come out on June 6. We don’t know what it is and no hints have been dropped that I’m aware of so this should be a surprise. The folks at Carenado have been a bit quiet recently so maybe its another partnership with them? We’ll see!

City Update 08 and Local Legend 17 come next on June 22nd. This is timed to coincide with FSExpo 2024 in Las Vegas and I’m guessing that the team will reveal these both during the expo. That should be interesting!

City Update 9, Local Legend 18, World Update 17, and Local Legend 19 are all set to arrive in July.

So, even with Sim Update 15 being the last big update until sometime after the launch of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, there’s not going to be a slowdown in new content for the sim. That’ll keep things plenty interesting over the coming months while we wait to see what 2024 is all about and when it’s going to arrive.

Read the full developer update here!