PMDG’s Robert S. Randazzo has once again posted on the PMDG forums in recent days talking about their latest efforts which have been mostly focused on updates to the 777 line-up as well as getting products into the Microsoft Flight Simulator Marketplace. There is a bit of talk in the comments area about the status of the DC-6 and also a bit of official speculation on the possibility of a 787 Dreamliner project. Let’s have a look at these items.

Marketplace and 777 updates

The first part of the update is focused on what is happening in the near term with the company’s Boeing 777 simulation. The first piece is that the company expects their 777 line to appear in both 2020 and 2024 Marketplaces with Build 116 – the very latest version.

There are some glitches in the 2024 integration process for the 777-200ER including issues with upgrading 2020 owners to the 2024 version for free. PMDG and Microsoft’s Marketplace team are reportedly on the job.

The updates for the 777 line-up are broadly expected to happen this week – I can’t actually verify if they are up now but they may already be at time of writing.

The next 777 variant, the 777-200LR, was scheduled to come this week, however, Robert expressed doubt about this and suggested it may well slip to next week. This fourth variant of the 777 completes the collection of planned releases for the Boeing 777.

DC-6 updates

Not answered during Robert’s update but no less important for current and potential future owners. The answer was asked in the comments and provided by Mathijs Kok (who is now part of the PMDG team as you may recall).

Things are not progressing as quickly as we hoped. There are some issues that have popped up that are time-consuming to fix. Most of them have their roots in the fact that it was designed for one of the first releases of the MSFS2020 SDK, so the choices we made at that time now force us to redo parts. We did not expect that.

Mathijs Kok on the PMDG forums

Official speculation on 787, 737 MAX and more

It’s easy to make lists of aircraft that we want from preferred developers and easy enough to come up with rumours and speculation on future projects that they may be working on. Not above adding to the mix himself, Robert did pose a few questions that the PMDG team frequently were asked during their time at FSExpo (the first year that they had their own booth).

First, 737NG coming to MSFS 2024 was answered with a simple “ASAP” which suggests that efforts there are advanced. You may recall that PMDG reportedly made significant updates behind the scenes to enhance the product and thus would be charging a small upgrade fee. I hope we learn more about the exact details soon.

Next, the 737 MAX is a hot topic and Robert answered that question with a “silent nod and smile.” Though clearly not as imminent as the 737NG line, it does sound like this project may be progressing in ways that it has not been previously reported.

A similar “silent nod and a smile” is written next to the question posed on when PMDG will do a 787 Dreamliner. Previous answers to that question have largely been rebuffed as not something they were actively working on. This suggests that the stance has changed.

Finally there was a question about the 747 release date and that one is also given an uncertain answer. Release dates are notoriously hard to provide in software development and any flight simmer who has been around for a while know that these dates, even set with the best of intentions, can slip significantly. We’ll have to wait and see until it gets quite a bit closer.

One way or the other, it looks like PMDG have a busy calendar ahead of them.