You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing specific to announce at this time."Barry

You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing specific to announce at this time."Barry

Here is the whole articlehttp://pc.ign.com/articles/947/947737p1.htmlDoes this mean the end of the Flight Simulator franchise? According to Rericha, "We are committed to the Flight Simulator franchise which has proven to be a successful PC based game for the last 27 years. You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing specific to announce at this time."A Microsoft representative confirmed on Friday that ACES will be shut down but added that the company remains committed to the Flight Simulator franchise, though she would not provide details.http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-10149010....html?tag=mncolOf course "committed" could mean they will just continue to support the existing product for a while, without any new product in the pipeline. Its human nature to fear the worst. We should not read too much into this right now. Just let this this play out.

Here is the whole articlehttp://pc.ign.com/articles/947/947737p1.htmlDoes this mean the end of the Flight Simulator franchise? According to Rericha, "We are committed to the Flight Simulator franchise which has proven to be a successful PC based game for the last 27 years. You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing specific to announce at this time."A Microsoft representative confirmed on Friday that ACES will be shut down but added that the company remains committed to the Flight Simulator franchise, though she would not provide details.http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-10149010....html?tag=mncolOf course "committed" could mean they will just continue to support the existing product for a while, without any new product in the pipeline. Its human nature to fear the worst. We should not read too much into this right now. Just let this this play out.

Thanks Brian, you beat me to it :)

You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing specific to announce at this time."Barry

This makes me think of IRacing and their pay to play policy. I hope MSFS is never going to go down that road.

It means nothing. Just something to say to add a positive note to an otherwise grand exit from an industry. Any future "realistic" flight simulators will have to come from somewhere else rather than Microsoft.

It means nothing. Just something to say to add a positive note to an otherwise grand exit from an industry. Any future "realistic" flight simulators will have to come from somewhere else rather than Microsoft.

I realize serious simmers are a small fraction of a fraction, but, MSFS was the last reason I remained with the Windows Operating system. Since the only other competitor which is making a serious civil-oriented flight sim is X-plane, I can now give Apple some more market share.I still can't believe Microsoft let their longest-running software title go and kept that doorstop they call the Zune. Microsoft was/is Bill Gates' company and I am willing to believe that it'll continue to make boneheaded moves like this as they move into a new era past Bill G. We went from FSX being what Bill G showed to "brag on" Vista to throwing it all out the window. For what? CONSOLES? *Gag*

You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great LIVE experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing specific to announce at this time."Barry

That statement is not worth the electrons it took to convey it to you and the thousands that will eventually end up reading this topic. After a day spent talking to a whole bunch of folks within ACES and out, take my word for it... The fate of FS is yet to be determined. And until the RIF is complete and the six man skeleton team archive FSX, there will not be any effort put into thinking about the next step; where does MS go from here... anyone that states otherwise is speculating and not reporting facts.

Wouldn't it be a great idea to let the last men standing work on SP3 ? If FSX is the platform for many years to come, we need more efficient multicore utilization. Forget about 5 or 6 GHz CPUs as mainstream, won't happen - but 3 GHz 8 core systems will be the standard very soon... Bring on SP3 and give FSX a bright future ! And sales will continue...

If MS are happy to ditch ACES like that (after 27 years!) you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that MS have no interest in persuing FS anymore. After FSX, ESP and Vista, you can see why it happened this way. Downturns are good reasons to get rid of staff you'd otherwise struggle to sack during the good times. $$$ and shareholders are running the show, nothing else.All this talk of "our sources in ACES" etc.. doesn't carry much weight, especially when I can go to Phils blog and read it direct from him. He's fairly sure it's dead, and the press releases don't hint at it staying around, either (otherwise, why sack the ACES team unless it is a complete act of corporate lunacy???).Pending any new news direct from MS, I think it is safe to say FS is history. The name may live on, but FS as we know it will be gone.Best regards,Robin.

All this talk of "our sources in ACES" etc.. doesn't carry much weight, especially when I can go to Phils blog and read it direct from him. Robin.

Tom's "talk of sources..." carries great weight and he is 100% correct that the fate of the sim is not set in stone at this time. The RIF is complete; some are gone effective 7pm Friday night, while the remainder have some time to look for positions elsewhere in ms, just as Tom has previously reported.This is not to suggest in any way that there is any manner of future for the sim, it is simply to say that it's fate is not decided at this specific time. There is discussion happening consistent with what was announced by the public relations person, but that may, or may not, have anything to do with the sim.