Flight Simulator is one of those games with a dedicated player base that will buy every new installment and expansion. The technicalities that come with flying a modern airplane and the minor differences between two very similar airplanes are things that excite this community. Unfortunately, it was let down with the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
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The reason is not quite what you would expect.
The game was released just a few hours ago, but as it stands, it's received “overwhelmingly negative” reviews on Steam, with 2,384 reviews at the time of writing. All these reviews boil down to players not being able to play the game due to massive server loads. Most players are stuck looking at installation menus.
Your flight has been delayed due to technical issues
Steam reviews for the game are all in the red, with players frustrated by server issues and the time it takes to install the game. Adding to this was the fact that the long installation time caused Steam's two-hour refund period to expire. And for those who managed to install it, there are a lot of elements and assets missing.
Reviews revealed the game's release plan, saying that a game that relies so heavily on server loading should ideally have had a staggered release rather than launching globally all at once. Many have even complained that this is a direct result of the always-online approach that the gaming industry has slowly moved towards.
“We are aware of user reports of long initial load times in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024,” said MSFS Support Twitter. “With so many users initializing the sim at once, we have a high number of server requests. We are working to help resolve issues as soon as possible. For users whose initial charge exceeds 90% and stops progressing, we recommend a restart. . Otherwise, we advise you to wait to allow the upload to continue normally.”
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 boss Jorg Neumann even released a video apologizing to fans for the server issues that plagued the game's launch day. He assured that the development team is working on it and it should be fixed soon. “We knew the excitement for Microsoft Simulator 2024 was high, but frankly we completely underestimated how big and unfortunately it overwhelmed our infrastructure,” he said.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 further expands the next-generation series, adding a host of new technologies for hyper-realistic weather and more. It also adds jobs for pilots, from transporting parachutists and cargo to performing daring aerial rescues.
