The tidal wave of information is starting to wash ashore when it comes to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 news. One of the more interesting aspects is what we’re hearing from third party developers as they react to more concrete news about the sim. Release is coming up in November and many of us wondering what some of our beloved third party aircraft are going to need to make it into the new sim. Still others are curious which third parties did which aircraft in the new sim with Microsoft and Asobo working with a huge list of partners. I thought I’d round up what we’re learning from third parties right now. I won’t have covered everyone but hopefully this gives you a sense of the general feelings out there.
General feelings
Before getting into the details on what each developer is saying, I wanted to give a kind of overview of the basic facts.
One of the common messages among developers is that they are excited about the possibilities that the new sim offers. The new technologies, new interactivity, and some of the developer friendly features like new avionics packages and a customizable tablet interface built into the sim are all very appealing not only to us as consumers of the product but also to the developers.
Another thing that we’re hearing is that most of them, outside of those already partnered to develop content for the sim, don’t yet have access to the sim or the new SDK – or software developer kit. Developers will need that to start assessing how much work it should take to get their current line-up moved over to 2024.
The messaging from Asobo and Microsoft remain consistent – that most third party products should work immediately on import into the new sim. Adding additional features such as supporting upgraded flight models or the new interactive walk-around features will no doubt take time but if some of our favourites can start up right away I’m sure we’ll all appreciate that.
That said, let’s see what devs are saying right at the moment. The messaging is mostly consistent but there are some interesting tidbits of information. There’s also some expectation setting going on and that’s a valuable exercise too. Let’s see what they have to say!
Lets look around at what a few devs are saying
Got Friends
One of the exciting partnerships revealed back at FSExpo 2024 was that GotFriends were
What began as a simple conversation with Jorg to remaster the AeroElvira Optica for the next-gen sim has blossomed into something much bigger—five remarkable aircraft in total!
Got Friends also posted this fantastic graphic confirming that the Zlin Aviation Norden, Pipistrel Taurus-M, Patey Aviation Draco X, Stemme 12-G and AeroElvira Optica are all aircraft they’ve done. Got Friends are very good at bush plane and gliders so having them do these almost ensures that they will be top notch experiences.
https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/list-got-friends-development-hangar/495347/162
Blue Mesh
Developer Blue Mesh has done a lot of products for Microsoft over the last few years. The H-4 Hercules for example was part of the 40th Anniversary. Other products like the Latecoere were sold separately. Now they have some new additions with three ultralights. They are as follows:
– Magni M24 Plus
– CGS Hawk Arrow II
– Powrchute SkyRascal
Here’s a little of what Blue Mesh had to say.
Ladies and gentleman!
8 weeks remaining before you can take control of the 3 ultralights aircrafts included in the standard edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024!
WARNING: Aircrafts are not garenteed against elephants damages for safari trips.
Sounds fun! Can’t wait to try them out!
Just Flight
Many of my favourite aircraft have been produced by Just Flight and I’m eager and anxious to hear from them on what their upgrade plans are. Right now they are saying that they are quite excited about the new sim and that they aren’t yet able to talk about their full plans. Here’s a key part of their messaging on their Facebook page:
From a Just Flight perspective, we have been informed that we should get access to something like the SDK in the next few weeks. At that point we’ll be able to get cracking on ensuring our current add-ons all work nicely in the new version and we can of course also start to test anything new that we’re currently working on.
IndiaFoxtEcho
In characteristic fashion, the folks at IndiaFoxtEcho are very directly honest about the situation with their aircraft. They first talk about the fact that they don’t yet have the SDK and have not had a chance to test their aircraft. They even take the bold step of writing that now may not be a good time to buy one of their products.
THEREFORE, PLEASE DO NOT BUY OUR PRODUCTS IF YOU ARE EXPECTING THEM TO WORK FLAWLESSLY IN 2024 FROM DAY ONE. We know this may sound a stupid thing to say from a “vendor”, but WE WILL NOT SAY THEY WORK (FINE OR AT ALL) UNTIL WE TESTED THEM.
Though they say it may sound stupid, it is very much in keeping with their sometimes brutally honest communication approach and I think that has tended to earn the company a lot of fans over the years. Whatever the case may be, you’ll know what the situation is with IndiaFoxtEcho without a lot of guesswork.
They report that their first priority over the coming months will be to their current MSFS 2020 customers with updates for their current products and updates to bring them up to 2024 are their top priority. Their secondary priority will be development of their new products including the F-16 partnership with Heatblur.
Stay up to date with IndiaFoxtEcho over here on their Facebook page.
SimWorks Studios
I’ve done a lot of reporting on SimWorks Studios and it’s always good to hear what they are saying about their current and future products.
Like everyone else, we are excited to see the first footage of FS2024 and the new possibilities it brings for exploration, flying and… sailing and driving -why not? New features such as a full walk-around allowing you to interact with your aircraft externally, check your tires, open hatches, maybe drain your tanks? What about planes dynamically getting dirty on mud, or “bathe” them clean? We are looking forward to getting the new SDK and learning the ropes of the new stuff!
SimWorks Studios goes on to say in their most recent update that they are evaluating what they will do with future projects like their in-development Kodiak 900.
iniBuilds
Over at iniBuilds we have a few minor comments made on MSFS 2024. The developer has done a lot of partnership work with Microsoft and are a major contributor to the aircraft coming in 2024 with the selection including the A321LR, A330-200 and -300, the A400M and more.
Developers on the company’s Discord server have also recently confirmed that the in development A350 will be a 2024 aircraft only.
The plan is still before the end of the year. We understand that many may not want to purchase MSFS2024, but despite this, we saw it fit to opt for a MSFS2024 only release because of many factors, such as allowing us to include more features MSFS2020 wouldnt allow. But like mentioned, over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing more info about the aircraft, and on this friday, we’ll share a more formal statement regarding this decision as well.
Eddie from iniBuilds Staff on Discord
Meanwhile the already released A300-600 is going to see a free update to make it MSFS 2024 compatible. It’s not new information as it was mentioned in their July update but its worth mentioning.
The iniBuilds A300-600R Airliner will be updated free of charge for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
Will be looking for further updates from the company sometime later this week.
Stormbirds 
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