In the latest ‘Development Update,’ Microsoft has pushed the release of Sim Update 1 for MSFS 2024 to “maybe” February 25th. While prioritizing quality over speed and avoiding the introduction of new bugs through a premature release is generally positive, the delay still raises questions.

Given the size of the Microsoft Flight Simulator team – around 800 employees – and the support of a corporation with enormous resources, it’s surprising that bug fixing is taking so much time, especially since the game’s release was almost three months ago.

In Microsoft’s words: “Regarding the final release of SU1, if you saw last week’s Developer Livestream, you may recall that the panel mentioned we were tentatively targeting February 18th for the release. After carefully reviewing Sim Update 1 Beta feedback to ensure the best possible experience for all simmers, we have decided to take a bit more time before its release. While it won’t launch on February 18th, we appreciate your patience and look forward to sharing another update in next Thursday’s Development Blog.”