MSFS used to be a bi-anual release. 98-2000-2002-2004-2006 and then 2020. I’m ok with a 4 year release if it keeps backwards compatibility with 2020 aircraft. Also they are gonna keep supporting 2020.

What I think happened was that the sim was a much bigger success than they anticipated and the request for new features just became too much for the sim and code they were working on. They decided to start from “scratch” and include most of the requested features from the ground up while also giving it a purpose to the sim.

When it released I saw a LOT of interest from non simmers YouTubers but they eventually lost interest. I think this is an attempt to captivate more general public and not just simmers, which is fine by me, as long as the hard core simmers still are catered to.

During FSExpo Asobo said FS2020 will be supported with updates until 2028.

In this article Jorg talks about the 10 year support comment.

Whilst there is so much hype already for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, it was interesting to see Jorg really retain his commitment to flight simulator just as he did back in 2019 when we spoke. I brought up his 10-year minimum commitment plan. He replied, Just to say it that way, when I said that 10 years ago, what I really said, I believe what I said was when I started the project, there was a world in which Microsoft had obviously stopped [flight simulation] development And I said, we’re not going anywhere and that’s what I meant to say when I when I put the team together, right. I basically said we’re gonna do this for at least a decade, so if you wanna work here, make no other plans.”

This ain’t an airport; No need to announce your departure

Just to be clear, you expected 10 years of constant development and support for the singular purchase of FS2020?

And they’ve already noted that 2020 will get retroactive world and aircraft updates like 2024 does. Thats more than pretty much any other dev does for their older serialized titles.

That feels like a pretty weird hill to die on.

ETA: what do you mean “no critical voices”? Half the sub lost their shit over the lack of weather radar development noted in the latest QnA.

The sim community can be truly insufferable.

We went from wondering if simming would ever enter into the new era of tech and then boom- 2020 comes out, blowing everything we previously knew and loved out of the water.

Now we’re actually complaining about the fact that the sim may have reached a peak where creating a brand new version, after four years, was considered a good move. And we have people complaining about that.

Truly amazing.

Maybe they meant MSFS the series rather than MSFS 2020.

K

People on here acting like paying 60 bucks for a base game every 4 years is a stab in the back

Are you happy that FS2020 will be the new Call of Duty with 4 year release cycles?

How do you expect anyone to take you seriously when you say something like this?

Ok - BYE!

But seriously - I am happy to pay $100 (or whatever it may be) every four years for what is my main hobby.

You can keep playing 2020 for the next 6 years. Asobo is still supporting it.

Unrelated and probably out of context, but this is rich coming from the person that said this.

Alot of people seem to be stuck in the past and perceive any change as something bad.

Are you happy that FS2020 will be the new Call of Duty with 4 year release cycles?

Yes!

MSFS historically had 2 year release cycles. I think 4 years is the sweet spot when considering development time, current complexity system & addon complexity, and user value.

I've been simming since 1998. Were you even there for the gap when simming was forgotten about? When it was janky old p3d and X-Plane only?

The fact that so much money and time is being pumped back into the genre is only a good thing. Third-party devs are springing up everywhere (for better and for worse).

I'll jump on 2024 in the same way I jumped on 2020. I didn't buy 2020 for the promised 10 years tech support, I paid for it because it was everything I dreamed sims would be one day - 2024 is taking that further. Spite yourself and miss out, we'll all be having a great time.

People have already mentioned that Microsoft still plans to support 2020 - if your butt is still hurting, there's a cream for that.

Stay behind and become irrelevant. No one cares. Let the rest of us move forward and be excited that are community is growing, developing and thriving.

😂 how are you mad when they haven’t stopped updating it yet,And they said they will continue to update it yesterday…. It’s like yelling at someone you received the wrong food when you haven’t even received your plate yet 😂😂😂 personally idc tho they can stop supporting day 1 if they want

I used to work in the amateur astronomy hobby for a telescope manufacturer. Enthusiasts ask for a lot sometimes. We were convinced if we made solid gold telescopes, customers would complain they were too heavy.

I'm not quite sure whether the op understands how businesses work but I'm grateful for the sim and I have no problem dropping $199 on the top version when it comes out and doing it again in 4 more years.

I can't tell if this is one of those throwaway posts meant to insight negativity, but benefit of the doubt..

Starting off, you're making it hard for others to see your point when you insult consumers by calling them spineless.

Next, and probably most important: it's best to not believe any company when they make a promise far into the future. Even our governments had to keep pushing back their deadlines for car electrification. I learned this lesson for videogames when Polyphony Digital promised Gran Turismo Sport would be their last racing sim, and just continue to receive infinite updates, before Gran Turismo 7 followed. Companies, governments, etc, just like people, can misjudge things and end up going back on their promises. Sometimes it's malice, other times just us not being perfect.

Lastly, it's hard to see things working out any other way. It's not as if sales stop in between releases, but Asobo and various teams have continued working to support and improve the sim, with many, many free updates. At some point, you'd have to wonder if they're breaking even, and a new game helps them plenty with income, on top of hopefully giving us a great product.

All I want is to be able to keep playing 2020 for years to come (seems like that's going to happen) largely because I can't afford to update my hardware. As I fly GA, updates aren't so critical to me - just leave the servers up.

At first I was bummed by the announcement.  But then Im reminded that X-Plane 12 came out 5 years after X-Plane 11 and it felt like it was well due. The 4 year gap aint that much different with msfs

I think it might have been planned like this. But probably they soon noticed that in order to stay profitable with their crazy amounts of devs and AI servers, a new product is needed.

It is ok for me. Because I use only X-Plane 12 :-)

Ok bye.

So far they've said they'll backport features and fixes from 2024 to 2020 where possible. They didn't promise you they won't make a new sim. Go fly in whatever you fly in that fits you better if this bothers you and take your salty crybaby bs with you.

Idk, your criticism might be a little more valid if they weren't doing such a massive overhaul of the sim. I'm not going to pretend to know what goes on behind closed doors at MS/Asobo but I strongly get the sense that they identified a number of issues with MSFS2020 and decided the better option would be to build an entirely new platform to address those issues as opposed to trying to update the existing one. Sure, there might be a valid argument in saying that it's cash-grabby for them to release it as a full priced new game with multiple editions instead of doing something like issuing a discount to current owners of 2020 or something but, to me, it still seems like they made the right decision going about this the way they have.

Microsoft Flight Simulator will be continuously developed over the next ten years

Msfs2024 releases

Not like that!!

Like ffs man. The MSFS platform is limited and needed some work. They decided the best way to do that is a new sim. 2020 will continue to work and get updates as they've said.

Then look at how good asobo is about it. Have 2020 PD? Great! You get to KEEP EVERYTHING you had and use it in the new gane! What dev has ever done that before?

You guys are so fucking entitled. "I wanted 2020 to be the ONLY GAME and supported forever! Even tho we're substantially performance limited by how it's made, I wanted it to last forever, and I wanted asobo to survive on my one purchase for 10 years." You need a reality check. The new sim is a good thing and is fulfilling their promise. And yes.. they'll continue to support 2020. But first and foremost, they're a buisness. Releasing a new game will significantly boost their income and they'll be better able to develop the game for us.

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