Welcome to the first of our newly formatted Development Updates from the Microsoft Flight Simulator team! Thanks to community feedback, we shifted the focus of our regular weekly blogs (now renamed the “Weekly Briefing”) to contain a quick snapshot of high-level MSFS news, Marketplace releases/updates, Community Updates, and of course the much-loved Screenshot Challenge. Development Updates such as this one will be published shortly after a Developer Stream and will include more comprehensive information about recent and future MSFS development plans including:

• • Upcoming Release Schedule
  • Developer Livestream Recap
  • Updated Feedback Snapshot and Development Roadmap
  • Other Announcements

Upcoming Release Schedule

During the April 15, 2026 Developer Livestream, the panel revealed some exciting new updates coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator soon!

PS5 Marketplace

Third-Party Products on the PlayStation 5 Marketplace and PSVR2 support is launching with Sim Update 5 (April 2026)

• With Sim Update 5, we expect to introduce the first batch of third-party content to the PlayStation 5 Marketplace. Rather than a “full Marketplace” arriving all at once, add-ons must pass Sony’s platform and performance requirements, including technical evaluation on PS5 hardware. Some products from the initial batch did not meet performance standards and will require adjustments, but a selection of approved third-party add-ons is planned to be available when Sim Update 5 releases, with more to follow over time. We are excited for you to see the first batch of products in the Marketplace with SU5!

Sim Update 5

Sim Update 5 is targeted for release on all platforms (PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 5 Pro) next week (April 20-24, 2026)!

• Jorg acknowledged that there are still 2-3 “must-fix” bugs remaining before we’re ready to ship the final SU5 release build to all players, but the team is cautiously optimistic that they can resolve the remaining outstanding issues within the next few business days.
• In addition to PSVR2 support, 3rd-Party products being added to the PlayStation Marketplace, and dozens of other bug fixes and improvements, SU5 will also introduce a new weather radar including tilt functionality. Developed by Working Title, this feature has been long-requested by simmers, and we’re exciting to deliver it to you soon!
• During the April Livestream, Seb walked viewers through a deep dive presentation showing the updated airflow simulation system. We know Seb’s deep dives are very popular with simmers, so be sure to watch this section of the livestream using the linked timestamp in the section below.

Aircraft & Avionics Update 4

Aircraft & Avionics Update 4 is also releasing simultaneously Sim Update 5 (April 2026). This will update the following aircraft to native MSFS 2024 standards:

• Expert Series 01: ATR 42/72-600
• Famous Flyer 5: Antonov An-2
• Local Legend 2: Fokker F.VII
• Local Legend 4: Savoia-Marchetti S.55/S.55X
• Local Legend 9: Latécoère 631

Additional Aircraft & Avionics Updates to improve other Local Legends and Famous Flyers (specific aircraft TBA) are also planned for future release.

World Update Announced

World Update 21: Australia (May 2026)

• We’re exciting to be returning to the Land Down Under for our next World Update! WU21 will include 30+ new Areas of Interest (AOIs) plus updates to previous AOIs from WU_07. Additionally, there will be six new bespoke airports and 29 Points of Interest for simmers to explore.
• As with all World Updates, we’re excited to release some new activities for both MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 as well: three Discovery Flights, four Precision Landings (MSFS 2024), three Landing Challenges (MSFS 2020), one Bush Trip (MSFS 2020), two Low Altitude Challenges (MSFS 2024), and two Rally Race Challenges (MSFS 2024).

Local Legend Announced

Local Legend 24: CAC Boomerang by iniBuilds (May 2026)

• The next Local Legend accompanying the Australia World Update will be the CAC Boomerang! This WWII-era warbird is being developed by iniBuilds and is a fitting choice for Australia, as it was the first combat aircraft designed and manufactured in the country.

Expert Series 2 Announced

Expert Series 02: Piper M600 by FSReborn (June 2026)

• FSReborn is partnering with Microsoft Flight Simulator to bring the Piper M600 as the Expert Series 2 aircraft, planned for release in June during FSExpo. The Piper M600 will be equipped with a G3000 series avionics suite, developed in collaboration with Working Title. Raul shared a sneak peek of several features of the aircraft, including simulated failure scenarios, three interior configuration options, a full HALO system, and more. Players looking for a relaxing experience can reduce the consequences of improper procedures, while pilots seeking full immersion can enable realistic consequences.

Expert Series 3 Sneak Peek

• Expert Series 03: Embraer 600 Praetor by Asobo and Working Title (November 2026)
  • Matt Nischan from Working Title joined us to share an update on the Praetor 600. The aircraft will feature highly-detailed system modeling, including a fully simulated electrical architecture which even includes the circuit breakers! The aircraft features an advanced hydraulics system with physics-based behavior and thermal modeling. The Praetor 600 will also include an engineering-grade turbine simulation, with each engine individually represented, alongside deeply simulated aircraft systems and avionics designed to support a highly realistic flight experience. This aircraft also models fully independent dual FMS units and IRS drift that follow real-world inertial navigation equations.

Developer Livestream Recap

In case you weren’t able to tune in live, you can click the YouTube link above to join our Senior Community Manager Jayne as she talks to Jorg Neumann, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator, Sebastian Wloch, C.E.O. of Asobo Studio, and Martial Bossard, Executive Producer of Asobo Studio, to learn about what’s coming up in MSFS 2020 and 2024. During the broadcast, the panel answered many questions from YOU the flight simmer community! We responded to questions that were both pre-submitted in advance and also many that were asked live by viewers in Twitch chat. You can see the full agenda (including YouTube timestamp links to each section of the broadcast) in the list below:

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Introductions
• 02:35 Releases since the last Dev Stream
• 06:09 Roadmap through March 2026
• 07:35 Q&A 1: General – Prioitization of bugs vs features
• 12:37 Sim Update 5 Dev Highlights
• 16:31 SU5 Optimizations and UX Updates
• 19:41 SU5 Airflow Simulation Deep Dive
• 30:17 Q&A 1.5: General – Force Feedback, ATC, Double Jetways, Multiplayer
• 37:59 Feedback Snapshot Overview
• 46:40 Q&A 2: World & Weather – 2020 Aerials, World Hub, Live Weather, Turbulence, Weather Radar
• 56:47 World Update 21: Australia and Local Legend 24
• 59:48 Q&A 3: Career Mode & Activities – Bug fixes, 2 Certifications coming soon, Bush Trips
• 01:04:29 Q&A 4: Aircraft & Avionics – Helicopters, Systems depth, Contracts, Airplane Upgrades
• 01:12:20 Expert Series 3 Praetor 600 Preview with Matt Nischan from Working Title
• 01:26:34 Q&A 5: Marketplace – Marketplace updates, Marketplace for PS5, Improvements, Gifting
• 01:36:35 Expert Series 2 with Raul from FSREBORN
• 01:46:43 Upcoming Releases
• 01:51:46 Roadmap for 2026

Feedback snapshot

The Feedback Snapshot is our way of tracking the most-voted Wishlist items and Bugs Reports by players on the Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums. Below you’ll find the latest edition of these lists in trending order.

Note: during the livestream, Jorg acknowledged that many of the top-voted items here are marked as being fixed in previous Sim Updates. While the intent is to show that many of the most pressing issues as voted by the community have been resolved, we realize that some simmers would prefer a more forward-looking Feedback Snapshot that shows the current status of active bugs & issues rather than ones that have already been fixed. Jorg said he will update the Feedback Snapshot to remove the completed items and add more of the remaining outstanding issues in their place. We will amend this blog post with the updated Feedback Snapshot as soon as we receive it.

Other Announcements

The Microsoft Flight Simulator team will be returning to FlightSimExpo again this year! Hosted in Minneapolis-Saint Paul from June 12-14, 2026, FSExpo is North America’s largest gathering of flight sim enthusiasts. Join thousands of other simmers and dozens of hardware vendors, software developers, and more for a weekend of informative panel discussions, new product announcements, how-to seminars, and much more! Best of all, this is a fantastic way to make new friends with other passionate flight sim hobbyists and the developers who create fantastic products for the sim!

Final thoughts

That’s all for the first of our newly-formatted Development Update, thanks for making it to the end! If you wish to provide feedback on this new style, please head to our forums: Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums

Sincerely,

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team