Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Interview - Jorg Neumann Discusses the Future of the Sim at Gamescom

Overview

Microsoft Flight Simulator’s head, Jörg Neumann, used a Gamescom interview to outline upcoming content, explain the team’s approach to multi-platform support, and address community feedback on core simulation quality.

Gamescom announcements

• National Championship Air Races: The sim is bringing back the Reno-style race event on October 13.
• World/City updates: The featured update for this year is Italy (not Germany), focusing on Genoa, Messina, and other locations—with an emphasis on adding more places beyond major countries.
• New German aircraft: A Heinkel He 70 Blitz is announced as a “local legend,” historically noted as the fastest passenger plane of its time (1932).
• Lufthansa partnership: Lufthansa livery will be added to commemorate the airline’s 100th anniversary. Neumann describes partnership outreach as a long process, with dedicated livery teams contacting airlines.

Strategy and platform policy (leadership / exclusives)

• Neumann addresses questions about Microsoft leadership changes, reaffirming the team’s commitment and praising continued support for simulation.
• On exclusives pressure, he states Flight Simulator 2024 is not an exclusive and will be available on PS5, claiming the PlayStation community has been enthusiastic.
• He argues the franchise’s platform history supports this direction: rooted in PC, then expanding to Xbox (including cloud/XCloud) and now PlayStation, describing cross-ecosystem growth as “bright.”
• Nintendo Switch 2 is explicitly dismissed—described as “not discussed” / “not happening.”

Reno Air Races → more competitive “esports-like” racing

• Neumann says they believe you can’t force esports; competition emerges when gameplay and audience engagement support it.
• He criticizes the prior implementation as too accessible/easy, with insufficient penalties and weak competitiveness.
• For the renewed race, the team worked with pilots and the RARA organization to deepen realism, especially through:
  • wear system
  • engine management
  • manifold
• He claims internal testers sometimes can’t even complete the race due to failures (e.g., engine breakdown), implying higher difficulty and stronger competitive tension.
• He cites similar efforts with Red Bull Air Racing—including support from real Red Bull pilots/test pilots and a successful community tournament—as evidence the concept can grow beyond a single event.

What players want: bug reduction + career mode focus

Neumann describes an ongoing feedback loop—reviewing criticisms, watching videos, and routing key issues to the team as “sticking points” to remove friction.

He reports:

• overall stability and error counts have improved
• development focus is now largely on career mode

Career mode issues mentioned include:

• players sometimes lose a lot of money
• sometimes flight/interactions are interrupted

He also notes that weather improvements are frequently requested and that work is underway, but he does not set deadlines, framing it as potentially part of a separate weather update later.

Photogrammetry / world coverage: data access and regulation delays

• Neumann reiterates that better world coverage depends on ground imaging data collected by partners like Vexel Imaging.
• He discusses geographic expansion (including Brazil) and progress in places like Japan and Australia, while avoiding announcing additional updates immediately.
• He explains that city/region scanning can be blocked by government regulation, but he believes repeated efforts eventually result in “yes.”

He also claims:

• China is not currently a “rejection” story—he says it hasn’t been rejected once
• South Korea recently changed laws (good news)
• India is moving toward scanning via a “100 Cities Initiative”, making him optimistic
• Africa may be possible, but he calls it technically difficult due to scale

Liveries: Lufthansa now, more outreach planned

• Neumann explains that liveries matter for realism and immersion—without correct liveries at airports, the experience can look wrong.
• He notes console players depend more on officially released liveries than PC players, who can often add/modify more freely.
• He says the team has a dedicated outreach model for airlines and that there are additional liveries not yet released.
• He hints that a livery update could be timed around planned city updates, potentially shifting the schedule.

He also explains livery integration effects:

• liveries for aircraft can apply to AI/passive aircraft traffic by painting matching models.

Other community-requested topics: CRJ and AI traffic

• Bombardier CRJ: Neumann says efforts continue. Bombardier is no longer simply saying “no,” but is asking for more detail (“tell us more”), and he suggests dialogue may be opening after Gamescom.
• AI traffic realism / “profound traffic upgrade”:
  • he cites progress toward fixing incorrect traffic behavior
  • he highlights a key limitation: after aircraft land, the sim may lose reliable tracking, since they may have good data in-flight (e.g., via FlightAware) but not fully after landing
  • he references work involving Working Title and Asobo, expressing confidence that improvements are coming
• Pre-landing AI alignment is also discussed: he implies it’s difficult, though the team remains passionate.

Closing message to the community

Neumann thanks players for their patience and emphasizes that recent Sim Updates—notably Sim Update 5 and 6—delivered strong stability and productivity.

He encourages optimism, stating that more features are coming and describing the future of flight simulation as “bright.”

Presenters / contributors

• Jörg Neumann — Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Giuseppe — interviewer (Simulation Daily / referred to throughout)

Partner contributors/teams mentioned:

• Asobo
• Working Title
• RARA organization (runs the Reno Air Races)
• Vexel Imaging
• Red Bull test pilots / Red Bull Air Racing team