In a live stream earlier today, the Microsoft Flight Simulator team addressed the challenges surrounding the turbulent launch of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Jörg Neumann (Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator), Sebastian Wloch (Asobo CEO), and Martial Bossard (Asobo Executive Producer) faced the community with an honest discussion of the issues that plagued the release, the steps taken to resolve them, and their commitment to rebuilding trust with simmers worldwide.
The launch breakdown: What went wrong
Neumann opened the stream by acknowledging the “awful launch experience,” offering a detailed apology on behalf of the team. While some users speculated that server overload was to blame, the real culprit was identified as a failure in the Content Delivery Network (CDN), a system responsible for distributing data to players.
Although the same CDN infrastructure worked well during MSFS 2020, the unprecedented demand for the new version—peaking at 100 billion package requests on launch day—caused the system to collapse. As a result, players experienced widespread crashes, long loading times, and low-quality textures.
Graphical data presented during the stream showed the error spikes during the first few days and the resolution timeline. Neumann noted that the new system now offers “99.99% stability,” but the launch highlighted critical oversights in planning for the overwhelming demand.
A roadmap for patches and improvements
The team outlined a series of fixes, both already deployed and upcoming. Two stability patches have been released, and a third, more substantial update, is expected next week. Patch 3 will address a range of critical issues, including:
- LOD and texture streaming: Players experiencing blurry textures or popping details will benefit from optimizations in the rolling cache system and texture streaming pipeline.
- Xbox performance: Efforts are underway to mitigate memory fragmentation issues that cause crashes, particularly during long-haul flights and with complex aircraft.
- Career mode bugs: A number of issues, including incorrect wind and turbulence behavior, are being fixed.
- VR and interface usability: Improvements to the EFB in VR mode and fixes for toolbar functionality are planned.
Neumann promised that updates will now be delivered more frequently thanks to the server-side update capabilities of MSFS 2024. Server-side fixes for aircraft, career mode, and world updates can roll out independently of major patches, allowing for faster issue resolution.
Addressing community concerns
During the Q&A portion of the stream, the team tackled several high-priority concerns raised by the community, including:
- Streaming reliance: While acknowledging the demand for offline options, the team reiterated that full local installations of MSFS 2024’s data (exceeding petabytes of data) are not feasible. However, they plan to offer users the ability to permanently install selected aircraft and airports, reducing dependency on cloud streaming.
- Encrypted aircraft packages: The decision to encrypt default aircraft was made to prevent competitive exploits. The team is exploring ways to provide unencrypted versions for free-flight use without compromising competitive integrity.
- Marketplace launch: The marketplace for MSFS 2024 has been delayed until early 2025 to allow third-party developers more time to adapt to the new platform and test their products.
Free aircraft as an apology
In a gesture of goodwill, the team announced that four additional aircraft will be made available for free to all MSFS 2024 users. The first two aircraft—the Cessna 185F and the Embraer Paulistinha—are confirmed, with the latter releasing alongside the delayed World Update: Brazil in early 2025. The remaining two aircraft will be announced later.
Neumann described the move as an effort to “make up” for the frustrations players faced, while also reaffirming their commitment to delivering a world-class simulation experience.
Long-term vision: 2025 and beyond
Despite the challenges, the team remains optimistic about the platform’s future. Neumann outlined plans for 2025, including:
- Four world updates: Starting with Brazil, subsequent updates will expand and refine global coverage.
- Three city updates: Major metropolitan areas will receive bespoke enhancements.
- Quarterly sim updates: These will target major functionality improvements and bug fixes.
- Two unannounced surprises: The team teased additional content but refrained from providing details.
Closing statements
The stream concluded with heartfelt acknowledgments from Neumann, Wloch, and Bossard. They expressed gratitude for the community’s patience and detailed feedback, which they described as critical to improving the simulator.
“We will be better,” said Neumann. “We’re committed to fixing the issues and making MSFS 2024 the platform we envisioned.”
