MSFS 2024 Apologizes and Acknowledges Turbulent Launch, Cites Unexpected Excitement

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Addressing a Turbulent Launch

The highly anticipated release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 experienced a challenging launch, marked by significant server issues, bugs, and instability. Jorg Neumann, head of MSFS, and Sebastian Wloch, CEO of Asobo Studio, addressed these problems in a YouTube video.

Unexpected User Surge Overwhelms Servers

Neumann and Wloch explained that while they anticipated high player interest, the actual number of users far exceeded their projections, overwhelming the game's infrastructure. The initial login process involves retrieving data from a server database. While tested with 200,000 simulated users, the actual player count caused the database cache to repeatedly collapse.

Login Queues and Missing Content

Attempts to mitigate the problem by increasing queue size and speed proved temporary. The saturated service repeatedly failed, leading to extended loading times and, in some cases, the loading screen freezing at 97%. Reports of missing aircraft stemmed from incomplete data retrieval due to the overloaded server cache.

Negative Steam Feedback

The launch issues resulted in overwhelmingly negative Steam reviews, citing long login queues and missing content. Despite the problems, the development team assures players that they are actively working on resolving these issues, implementing solutions to stabilize the servers and improve the player experience. A statement on the Steam page apologizes for the inconvenience and assures continued updates.