August 24th, 2023 Development Update - Microsoft Flight Simulator

This week’s Screenshot Challenge winner is Forum user DaveBGaming. If you’re interested in participating in our weekly Screenshot Challenges, check out the details in the Community section below!

Yesterday at gamescom in Cologne, we were pleased to announce a new City Update and Local Legend. Sim pilots can find both City Update 4: Western Europe (Free) and Local Legend 12: Dornier Do X (USD $14.99) available now from the in-sim Marketplace.

Sadly, there are no surviving models of the Dornier Do X, so to bring this plane to Microsoft Flight Simulator in the most accurate and realistic fashion, we partnered with Freundes-und Förderkreis Do X e.V., a Germany-based group who are currently building a full-size replica of this vintage aircraft. Their goal is to complete construction by 2029 in time for the 100th anniversary of the Do X’s first flight. You can learn more about Freundes-und Förderkreis Do X e.V. in our latest Partnership Series video on YouTube here.

Earlier today, we released updates to Expert Series 1: ATR 42-600 / 72-600 and Local Legend 11: Aero Vodochody Ae-45 and Ae-145. These updates are now available from Content Manager. You can read the release notes for the ATR here and for the Aero 45 here.

On Tuesday, we updated the ongoing Sim Update 13 (SU_13) public test with a new beta build. Among other fixes, build 1.34.11.0 includes a new toggle option that allows players to enable or disable the white dot cursor. This toggle feature is currently available only on PC but will also be coming to Xbox in the next pre-release beta build. You can read the full release notes for 1.34.11.0 here.

Last but not least, last Friday, August 18, marked the three-year anniversary of Microsoft Flight Simulator‘s release! To celebrate, we shared some player statistics from three years of your flying adventures. You can see these amazing figures in the infographic below or in video format on YouTube here. Thank you for three great years in the virtual skies!

– MSFS Team

Development Roadmap

Click here for the web-friendly version of the Development Roadmap.

Marketplace Update

Click here for the web-friendly version of the Marketplace Update.

There are 41 new and 27 updated products in today’s Marketplace, 4 updated products that were released earlier today, and 4 new and 4 updated products that were released earlier this week. Thursday’s Marketplace update generally goes live before 5pm PT.

*Released on Wednesday, August 23rd:*
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox

*Released in the morning on Thursday, August 24th:*
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox

*Released in the evening on Thursday, August 24th:* 14 NEW PRODUCTS: 7 ON PC, 7 ON XBOX
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox	New on PC and Xbox
	New on PC and Xbox

19 UPDATED PRODUCTS: 9 ON PC, 10 ON XBOX
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on Xbox
Updated on Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox	Updated on PC and Xbox
Updated on PC		Updated on PC and Xbox

Marketplace Backlog

Current Backlog: 560 Total*

*The MS test process is currently going through iteration, so our backlog numbers are fluctuating.

BACKLOG: NEW PRODUCTS

	*Testing Status*
Content Type	Initial Processing and Validation by MS	Handed off to 3P for Functional Testing	Functional Testing in Progress by 3P	Functional Testing Signed off by 3P	Total
Aircraft	61	5	0	0	66
Mission	26	16	8	0	50
Scenery	83	1	3	0	87
Livery	44	2	2	0	48
Airport	71	10	5	0	86
Other	49	13	4	2	68
Total	334	47	22	2	405

BACKLOG: UPDATED PRODUCTS

	*Testing Status*
Content Type	Initial Processing and Validation by MS	Handed off to 3P for Functional Testing	Functional Testing in Progress by 3P	Functional Testing Signed off by 3P	Total
Aircraft	32	2	1	0	35
Mission	4	0	0	0	4
Scenery	7	1	1	0	9
Livery	50	0	0	0	50
Airport	36	13	3	0	52
Other	3	0	0	2	5
Total	132	16	5	2	155

SDK & THIRD PARTY UPDATE

The SDK and Third Party Updates will return in a future Development Update blog.

Community Fly-In

This week, we’ll be flying in South America to celebrate the August 25 holiday of Uruguay’s Independence Day! Our flight plan will see us depart from the capital city of Montevideo, fly westbound along the Río de la Plata, then turn north to follow the Uruguay River to our final destination in Paysandú.

Event details are available here. All are welcome to participate!

Community Video

For this weeks Community Video we join Jonathan Beckett as he gives his first look around the brand new Dornier Do X, which released in the Marketplace earlier this week.

Whilst firing up the multitude of engines for a quick hop around the beautifully scenic Virgin Islands, Jonathan gives a detailed walkthrough of the interior before his first flight in the worlds largest flying boat at the time of its introduction.