Microsoft Flight was only released last February 29 but today it is being widely reported that Microsoft has stopped development on the project and laid off staff members.
"Flight" was never the sim that most people in our community wanted, having serious limitations in available terrain and aircraft and more importantly the ability to support third party add-ons. Microsoft felt that offering a sim with a continuous stream of internally developed DLC (downloadable content) was the way to go but it looks like the market has spoken.
While some flightsimmers may be pleased by Microsoft's failing it is hardly a reason to celebrate. I got to meet some of the Flight staff when Microsoft invited industry leaders to Redmond last December and they were all good guys who believe in what they were doing and had a true interest in aviation. The loss of "Flight" does not mean the return of "Flight Simulator" either, though it's hard to know what Microsoft's thinking is under any circumstances. No doubt we all wish this would make Microsoft re-evaluate their decision to drop their original and successful "Flight Simulator" line but it's just as likely that it will mean the end of any such products.
Nels Anderson
webmaster@flightsim.com
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