Microsoft Flight Simulator News & Announcements
Weekly RecapThe Sim Update 5 public beta test for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 began last week! In case you missed it, you can read the release notes for the first test build here. Thank you to everyone who is participating in the beta for your feedback and bug reports. If you do encounter any issues when testing the SU5 beta build, be sure to create a new Bug Report or upvote and contribute to an existing report of the same issue in the appropriate SU5 subcategory of our forums. Also please be sure to vote in our forum surveys at this link.In other news, today was the regularly monthly navdata update (AIRAC cycle 2602) for both Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. This update additionally included some fixes for a small number of airports in MSFS 2024 only. You can read all the details here.Finally, to everyone around the world celebrating the Lunar New Year this week, the MSFS team wishes you all good luck and prosperity in the upcoming year!Click here to continue reading the rest of the Weekly Briefing!
Welcome to the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Sim Update 5 public beta test!The Sim Update 05 Beta is now available on Steam, Windows PC, and Xbox.The release notes for the first SU5 test build (1.7.6.0) can be found on our forums here.Changes to Career/Challenge League in the Sim Update 5 BetaJust like the recent Sim Update 4 Beta, Career and Challenge League will have separate progress and leaderboards from the live build.This means Career mode progress in the live build will not carry over to the flighting build, and vice versa. In addition, Challenge League in the flighting build will have a separate leaderboard from the live build.Making Career and Challenge League progress separate in the flighting build allows us to test additional changes and fixes that cannot be tested in the live build. All Career specializations will be unlocked by default in the flighting build to allow participants to preview changes that might not be available (based on Career mode progress) in the live build.Will joining the Sim Update 5 Beta (and future Sim Update Betas) impact my progress in Career mode on the live build?
  • No, Career mode progress is locked to the live build. No Career progress made in the flighting build will carry over to the live build. However, all Career mode specializations are unlocked by default in the flighting build.
Will my leaderboard records in Challenge League transfer when the flighting build becomes the live build?
  • No, Challenge League leaderboards in the flighting build will always be separate from the live build.
Will progress in other game modes (Discovery, Free Flight, etc.) be separate in the flighting build and live build?
  • No, only progress in Career and Challenge League are affected. This could change in the future.
Will content I own or purchase in the Marketplace be available on both the flighting build and the live build?
  • Yes, all content owned or purchased in the live build or the flighting build will always be available in both builds.
Please find instructions to join the Sim Update 05 Beta below. You must own Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (or have an appropriate Xbox Game Pass subscription) to participate on the platform of your choice.What to Know Before You JoinWhile in Multiplayer Mode, you will only see users who are in the same build as you.How to Join or Leave the Beta on SteamOpen your Steam LibraryRight-click Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024Click “Properties”Click “Betas”Select “flight_sim_beta – Sim Update 5"If you would like to exit the pre-release test before it ends and revert back to the live build, follow these instructions:Open your Steam LibraryRight-click Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024Click “Properties”Click “Betas”Select “None”
Weekly RecapWe have good news! Sim Update 5 Public Beta officially begins tomorrow, February 13th, and will be available for Xbox, PC, and Steam users at this time. This beta is an opportunity for those who would like to help test and shape the update ahead of release, and we appreciate everyone’s continued enthusiasm and patience as we kick things off.As a reminder on how to join: for Xbox and PC (Microsoft Store) users, start by completing the sign-up here. Once registered, install and open the Xbox Insider Hub on your PC or Xbox, navigate to Previews, and select Microsoft Flight Simulator Beta. Choose Join, then under Manage, select Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 – Sim Update 5 and save your selection. After registration completes, restart your PC or Xbox to refresh the Microsoft Store and begin downloading the update. You’ll see your group name update to reflect the current Sim Update flighting.Steam users can opt into the beta by opening the Steam Library, right-clicking Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, selecting Properties, and navigating to Betas. From the dropdown menu, choose flight_sim_beta – Sim Update 5, and Steam will handle the update automatically.The forums for viewing release notes, reporting feedback, taking surveys, and posting any noted regressions will open tomorrow once the Beta is underway.In other news, we’re also introducing a new way to connect with fellow simmers through Airport of the Day on Discord. Every 24 hours, a new airport is selected as a shared destination, giving the you an easy, low-pressure way to fly together, hop into voice chat, and cross paths in-sim.We are also excited to continue expanding our in-person B.A.R. events. An upcoming event is planned for Dallas, Texas, with another new B.A.R. event coming to Melbourne, Australia. Scroll down for full event details if you’re interested in attending! We encourage you to RSVP as soon as possible so the event coordinators and properly plan their activities.Thank you again for your patience, feedback, and ongoing support. We’re excited to kick off the Sim Update 5 Public Beta and can’t wait to hear what you think. See you in the skies.Click here to continue reading the rest of the Weekly Briefing!
Weekly RecapA few months ago, we had a request for non-English speakers to assist with ATC language localizations. Thanks to the community’s assistance, we’ve improved ATC language quality for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and made changes to non-English languages in Sim Update 4. We’ve also resolved a handful of key issues based on your feedback. We are once again asking for more language localization assistance from players. If you’re a native speaker of any of the languages listed below and would like to help improve non-English ATC in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, please complete the form at this link.
  • Chinese
  • Dutch
  • French
  • Finnish
  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Norwegian (Bokmål)
  • Polish
  • Portuguese (Brazil)
  • Portuguese (Portugal)
  • Russian
  • Spanish (Mexico)
  • Spanish (Spain)
  • Swedish
  • Turkish
In Sim Update 5 news, the development team is continuing to polish the first pre-release test build, and the public beta is targeted to begin this month. We’re excited about the many upcoming bug fixes and other improvements in SU5 and are eager to get the first beta build into the hands of volunteer community testers for your feedback and bug reports!Please note that for this week’s Marketplace releases, the team encountered an issue and were unable to publish some items for MSFS (2020) and MSFS 2024. We are working to resolve the issue now and will release the delayed products as quickly as possible. We will update this post as soon as the products are available. Thank you for your patience while we work through this issue!Click here to continue reading the rest of the Weekly Briefing!
Weekly RecapWe had several new releases this week!First up, there is a new beta build (1.39.12.0) available for MSFS (2020) players. This is a relatively small update which resolves a few stability/crash issues. You can find the full release notes and instructions on how you can manually opt into the beta test at this link.Next, we released Famous Flyer 13: Northrop T-38A Talon. This aircraft was previously available as a pre-order bonus for PlayStation 5 users, but it's now available on all platforms from the in-sim Marketplace. Read more about this supersonic military jet trainer here and watch the trailer below!Finally, the latest City Update launched yesterday on January 28. City Update 13: California enhances the scenery for several cities in the Golden State. If you're in the Northern Hemisphere where it's currently winter, what better way to escape the snow and cold than with a flight to sunny California? Check out the trailer here:Click here to continue reading the rest of the Weekly Briefing!
Weekly RecapWe released two small updates this week. The first is a stability patch for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5 only which resolves a few crash issues specific to the PlayStation platform. The second is the monthly navdata update (AIRAC cycle 2601) for both MSFS (2020) and MSFS 2024 on all platforms. You can read the full details for these updates at the links below:Are you looking for somewhere to fly this week? We’ve added a new “Weekly Flight Inspiration” section to this blog found under the Community header! This will be a recurring section where the Community Team will suggest somewhere in the world to visit every week based on a real-world holiday, a historic aviation anniversary, or an important global event.Click here to continue reading the rest of the Weekly Briefing!
Weekly RecapWelcome back to another Weekly Briefing! As we announced last week, the team remains hard at work on Sim Update 5 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. We are targeting the public beta to begin soon. As always, keep an eye on our official forums for details about how to join the beta once it’s available.For PlayStation 5 simmers, some players from the community have recently created a new subreddit specifically for PS5 MSFS users. Some players in this subreddit have also started organizing group flights specifically for PS5 simmers! If you’re a Reddit user and would like to converse with other PS5 players, you can find this new subreddit at r/MSFlightSimulatorPS5.A reminder that registration for the upcoming Bravo Alpha Romeo (B.A.R.) event this weekend in the Netherlands is now open! See the Community section below for more details. Additionally, another community member from Texas has posted a “save the date” announcement for a B.A.R. event in Dallas on February 21 at the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum. We’ll have more details about the Dallas event in a future Weekly Update! If you would like to get involved in organizing your own B.A.R. event in your local area, join the Discord server to see how you can get involved in creating a meet-up with fellow flight sim enthusiasts!Click here to continue reading the rest of the Weekly Briefing!
Weekly RecapHappy new year 2026! We hope everyone had a safe, relaxing, and joyous holiday period, and we’re thrilled to kick off a new year of flight simming with you! We’ve got plenty of exciting things planned for 2026, with Sim Update 5 being first on the list. The SU5 public beta is targeted to begin in the coming weeks, so keep watching this space for more information if you’d like to join and help test the next major update to MSFS 2024!In case you missed it, our final livestream of 2025 was hosting an event in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024‘s new Red Bull Air Race mode featuring MSFS Community Managers Chewwy94 and SeedyL in competition against some of your favorite flight sim personalities from Twitch and YouTube including AvAngel, Grizzle, Jeff Favignano, Twotonemurphy, and Ultrasaurus. The races featured intense competition, skilled piloting, hilarious commentary (particularly from Murph during his runs), and of course some good-natured trash talk amongst the racers. If you were unable to catch it live, you can watch the full video from the event on our official Twitch channel here.Finally, if you’re new to Microsoft Flight Simulator following last month’s PlayStation 5 release or perhaps you recently received the sim as a gift, be sure to follow our official accounts on your preferred social network(s) to keep up with the latest MSFS news. You can find us at these links:Click here to continue reading the rest of the Weekly Briefing!
Enjoy discounted pricing during our Microsoft Flight Simulator Holiday Sale! For 20 Days starting on December 18th, save up to 81% on more than 800 items. To purchase these discounted items, visit the Microsoft Flight Simulator Marketplace, scroll down to ‘Special Offers’, then select ‘See All’ and look for the savings.
Weekly RecapIt’s been a huge week for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024! Following last week’s Early Access release for PlayStation 5 for those players who pre-ordered the Deluxe, Premium Deluxe, or Aviator Editions, we kicked things off with the full release for the Standard Edition on PS5. MSFS 2024 is now available to all PS5 and PS5 Pro players in all regions. We want to give a huge WELCOME to all the new PlayStation 5 simmers exploring the virtual skies of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024! If you have not yet discovered the Flight Planner website, it has now been updated to support logins from both Xbox and PlayStation Network accounts. This is an incredibly powerful tool that lets you plan your flights from a PC, laptop, tablet, or other device and then import them directly into Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 using the in-sim EFB. Check it out!Next up, we launched Sim Update 4 (1.6.32.0) on PC and Xbox on December 8. This is a massive update which includes thousands of bug fixes and other improvements. We then released a smaller patch on Wednesday to update all platforms (PC, Xbox, and PS5) to version 1.6.33.0. You can find the full release notes for SU4 at the below links:SU4 also launched with two exciting new features: the thrilling Red Bull Air Race mode and a new plane that is FREE for all players, the supersonic Boom XB-1. To learn more about this innovative new aircraft, the first American-built civilian plane to break the sound barrier, watch our new Boom Supersonic Partnership Series video below:Last but certainly not least, on December 9 we released the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Stranger Things Expansion. Claim this DLC package for FREE from the in-sim Marketplace and then complete a helicopter training session, join a crew led by Murray Bauman to fly five hair-raising missions set in the world of the popular Netflix series, or embark as a pilot for Hawkins Heli-Tours and explore the show’s setting of Hawkins, Indiana.This expansion also includes a new aircraft that can be flown in both the Stranger Things experiences and in Free Flight mode, the legendary Bell UH-1H Huey from developer Taog’s Hangar. Claim the Stranger Things Expansion for FREE from the in-sim Marketplace now!This will be our final Weekly Briefing of 2025, but we will publish a Marketplace Update next week on December 18. We wish everyone a safe and peaceful holiday season, and we’ll see you again in 2026!Click here to continue reading the rest of the Weekly Briefing!
In a twist straight from the Upside Down, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Netflix today released a Stranger Things Expansion featuring:
  • 5 intense, demanding, and thrilling missions led by your guide, Murray Bauman, from the original cast, and his team.
  • A digital twin map of Hawkins, Indiana that will live on long after you’ve watched the last episode of Stranger Things.
  • Brand new Bell UH-1H Huey helicopter to complete the missions and explore the town featuring a unique livery.
  • Custom costumes for your avatar.
  • 40 iconic points of interest made famous by the show.
Come see the excitement for yourself in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Stranger Things expansion available today on all platforms and watch Stranger Things Season 5 only on Netflix. The sky is calling!
RELEASE NOTES Sim Update 4 - Release - 1.6.32.0If you are playing on PC, outdated packages in your community folder may have an unexpected impact on the title’s performance and behavior.

If you suffer from stability issues or long loading times, move your community package(s) to another folder before relaunching the title. Click here to read the Sim Update 4 Release Notes!
Weekly Recap Sim Update 4 is getting very close to release on your platforms! Our goal is for the full release to launch next week, but as always this is a target, not a locked-in promise, and the release timing could possibly change. We follow the feedback from beta testers on our forums very closely, so be sure to vote in our beta surveys, submit bug reports, and leave comments if you are participating in the pre-release test!The release notes for the current beta build (1.6.31.0) can be found at the link below:Finally, we released updated versions of several first party aircraft for MSFS (2020) and/or MSFS 2024 today. You can find the release notes for each of these aircraft in this forum topic. The updated aircraft are:
  • Dornier Do J “Wal”
  • Dornier Do X
  • Focke Wulff FW200 Condor
  • Fokker F.VII
  • Grumman HU-16 Albatross
  • Junkers F13
  • Junkers Ju-52
  • Mitsubishi Heavy Industries MU-2
  • Savoia-Marchetti S.55 / S.55X
  • Waco CG-4A
We hope you enjoy reading this Weekly Briefing, the first edition of our newly re-vamped blog post! We’ll see you again next week when things in Microsoft Flight Simulator get turned Upside Down. 👀Click here to continue reading the Weekly Briefing!
Sim Update 4 BetaIn SU4 beta news, we released two more test builds in the past week. You can check out the release notes for each of these two builds at the links below:We want to once again thank everyone who is participating in the beta and sharing your feedback about each test build with the dev team. As always, we encourage all beta participatints to kindly submit bug reports, share your overall impressions, and vote in our beta surveys on the forums here.Upcoming Changes to this weekly blogWith the impending release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5, we are taking this opportunity to revamp our weekly blog post starting next week on Thursday, December 4. Based on your feedback on how the blog can serve you better, going forward we will be splitting the current blog into three different posts:
  • MSFS Weekly Briefing
  • Marketplace Update
  • Development Update
A description of each of these three posts follows.MSFS Weekly BriefingThe MSFS Weekly Briefing will be an at-a-glance view of what YOU the community have been up to in the past week, as well as a high-level recap of what’s been going on in the sim. This is where we will give an overview of any new releases from the past week, such as Sim Updates, World Updates, City Updates, new aircraft (Local Legends, Famous Flyers, Expert Series), pre-release beta test builds, new YouTube trailers, Marketplace sale notifications, special offers from flight sim peripheral makers and add-on creators, and more. If you’re a simmer who regularly reads the forums and already stays on top of the latest MSFS news, you may not find much new information here, but this will be an ideal short read for players who just want a quick recap of the past week’s updates.The MSFS Weekly Briefing will also include the Community section from the current weekly blog:
  • Community Fly-In Friday information
  • Community Video
  • Creator Highlight
  • Screenshot Challenge
Additionally, we will use the MSFS Weekly Briefing to highlight interesting and unique group events organized by you, the simmer community. Whether it’s a group flight listed on our forums, a charity fundraising livestream, or a real-life simmer meet-up that’s part of our Bravo Alpha Romeo program, check in here to stay on top of all the latest events happening in the MSFS community.The MSFS Weekly Briefing will release at the same time as the current blog, approximately 4pm Pacific Time every Thursday. The idea is that this post can be your single source of news to stay up-to-date with all the latest happenings in the world of Microsoft Flight Simulator.Marketplace UpdateThe Marketplace Update will be a separate blog post and will include the image grids for New and Updated MSFS 2024 and MSFS (2020) Marketplace products released that week on Monday and Thursday. For now, this will be published every Thursday concurrent with the MSFS Weekly Briefing, but the publication date/time could change in the future. This page will also include the Marketplace Backlog table and the text-only table of Marketplace releases which also shows how long a product was waiting between Last Submission and Creator Sign-Off and Creator Sign-off to Release.You can find the new Marketplace page at https://flightsimulator.com/marketplace. This page currently holds the text-only tables, but will be refreshed with a new look come Dec. 4th.Development UpdateDevelopment Updates will be focused solely about development information of the sim, not Community or Marketplace news. Publication is not locked in to a certain cadence, but the goal is for a new Development Update to be published either on an ad-hoc basis whenever the team has important new information to share OR for a new Development Update to follow each Developer Livestream (approximately every other month), giving a recap of the topics discussed by the panel for those simmers who were unable to watch the broadcast live on Twitch or prefer to read a text article rather than watch a YouTube VOD of the session.Development Updates will include the following sections from the current weekly blog:
  • Development Roadmap
  • Feedback Snapshot
  • SDK Update
  • Third Party Update
  • Other Development News
We look forward to these changes to the weekly blog  and hope you will find this breakout into three separate posts more useful for staying updated with the latest MSFS news. As always, we are listening to your feedback and are excited to hear what you have to say on our forums.Black Friday SaleThe Marketplace Black Friday Sale remains ongoing! This is a great opportunity to enjoy savings of up to 85% on thousands of items from the in-sim Marketplace. See here for more information!– MSFS TeamClick here to continue reading the Development Update!
Enjoy discounted pricing during our Microsoft Flight Simulator Black Friday Sale! For 13 Days starting on November 20th, save up to 81% on more than 650 items.           To purchase these discounted items, visit the Microsoft Flight Simulator Marketplace, scroll down to ‘Special Offers’, then select ‘See All’ and look for the savings.
The PlayStation 5 Beta Test ended earlier this week. THANK YOU SO MUCH to all the PS5 players who participated in the beta and shared your feedback, bug reports, and overall impressions with the dev team. We are positively thrilled by the excitement for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 shown by PS5 fans, and we can’t wait to welcome all of you to the world of flight simming with the full release of MSFS 2024 on Sony PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro in early December!While the PS5 Beta might be over, public pre-release testing for Sim Update 4 continues. Since our last weekly blog post, we have released two new test builds to those of you enrolled in the beta. You can see the release notes for each of these builds at the links below:For those of you thinking about trying VR (or for current VR simmers thinking about upgrading your hardware), our friends at Pimax are currently running a promotion for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 players. Buy a a Pimax Crystal Light or Crystal Super QLED VR headset at this link and use code MSFSVR at checkout to receive 80 Simverse Coins as a gift with purchase. You can then use these Simverse Coins to purchase items from the MSFS 2024 in-sim Marketplace. This is a great opportunity to enhance your flight simming immersion and treat yourself to a new Marketplace item at the same time!Finally, this week marks the one year anniversary of the launch of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The team has remained hard at work over the past year, delivering three Sim Updates (and a fourth SU coming soon), two World Updates, two City Updates, and several new aircraft. Development is not stopping anytime soon, though! We look forward to continually improving the sim as we enter Year Two of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. We’ll see you in the skies!Note: there will not be a weekly Development Update blog next Thursday (November 27) due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. – MSFS TeamClick here to continue reading the Development Update!
Public beta testing for Sim Update 4 and the PlayStation 5 version of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 remain ongoing with multiple new test builds being released since our last weekly Development Update blog. You can read the release notes at the links below. Please note that the PS5 links are only accessible to those who are enrolled in the PS5 beta.As always, we highly encourage everyone participating in either beta to take part in the forum discussions, submit bug reports if you encounter any issues, and vote in the forum surveys. Your feedback is regularly reviewed by the development team and is incredibly valuable to us as we continue to refine SU4 and the PS5 release.– MSFS TeamClick here to continue reading the Development Update!
New beta builds for both Sim Update 4 and the PlayStation 5 version of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 were released to community testers last Friday. You can read the release notes at the links below:In other update news, both Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 received the monthly navdata update today. This updates both sims to AIRAC Cycle 2511, and the new navdata will be downloaded automatically the next time you start the sim.Finally, to everyone who participates in this spooky season, we wish a happy Halloween to all of you! If you’re looking for a way to celebrate this holiday, why not join our Community Fly-In Frightday group flight tomorrow as we visit the filming locations of some classic scary movies such as Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th, Sleepy Hollow, and The Amityville Horror. Full details in the Community section below!– MSFS TeamClick here to continue reading the Development Update!
Public testing for both the ongoing Sim Update 4 and PlayStation 5 betas remains in progress! This week, the team released a new test build for both betas. In case you missed it, you can read the release notes for these test builds at the links below.As a reminder, if you are participating in either beta test, please remember to submit and contribute to bug reports on our official forums and to vote in the survey polls. Your feedback is incredibly valuable to the team as they refine both SU4 and the PS5 releases! Forum links for each beta are below. Note: only those invited to the PS5 beta will have access to that private subforum linked here.Finally, in the interest of improving transparency, we’re pleased to share a new piece of information with you in the weekly Development Update blogs going forward. You can now see how many days it has taken for each third-party product (New and Updated) to be released on the Marketplace after the Creator signed-off that it was ready to go. You can see this information in the dedicated Marketplace release page at this link. We’re curious to hear your feedback about this new information, so be sure to leave a comment on our forums if you have any thoughts about this new information.– MSFS TeamClick here to continue reading the Development Update!
This week saw the release of two new beta test builds for Sim Update 4 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. You can read the changelog for these two test builds at the links below:In addition to the SU4 beta, we are also currently running a test for the upcoming PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro releases of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Yesterday, we sent a new batch of invite codes to people who had signed up to join the beta. If you registered for the beta but did not receive a code yet, please ensure you’ve checked your spam folder for the email. Sign-ups for the Beta will remain open, but we cannot guarantee those who have signed-up or sign-up moving forward will be invited to participate. We will send out more invites if capacity becomes available, so continue to monitor all our social platforms for PS5 beta news!We also released a new PS5 test build to beta testers earlier this week. The notes can be found at the link below (note: only those people selected to participate in the PS5 beta will have access to this link):Finally, we’re thrilled to announce the ongoing Top-Rated Aircraft Sale in the Marketplace! Between now and October 21, simmers can enjoy up to 69% savings on some of the most highly-rated aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 as rated by the player community! The full list of aircraft available at discounted pricing can be found at this link. To access the savings, launch the sim, open the Marketplace, and scroll to the “Top-Rated Aircraft Sale” section.– MSFS TeamClick here to continue reading the Development Update!