P3D sits at 1.5%.  I wonder how many simmers that actually means.  Of course that is based on how many entries they received and I don't think they list how many they got?  Ooops, I see there were 42,000 respondents.    That leaves 630 of us left in P3D! 😪

Edited April 23Apr 23 by Clutch Cargo

I did not respond so that means that there is at least 631 left of us! 🤭

Make that 632.

6 hours ago, Clutch Cargo said:

P3D sits at 1.5%.  I wonder how many simmers that actually means.  Of course that is based on how many entries they received and I don't think they list how many they got?  Ooops, I see there were 42,000 respondents.    That leaves 630 of us left in P3D! 😪

I’m fairly confident there are a “few” more of us left than just some hundreds 😎

if we are to conservatively believe Asobo, there might be as many as 10,000,000 MSFS “active” players (or more…!).

Spreading that math out means there likely at least 150,000 P3D players…?

Given the extremely small sample size, and obvious (unavoidable) skews in the data, it could even be significantly higher. 😎

The only sad thing is that it does seem to be a steadily declining number, tho…

633 😛

634 🥲

9 hours ago, UrgentSiesta said:

I’m fairly confident there are a “few” more of us left than just some hundreds 😎

if we are to conservatively believe Asobo, there might be as many as 10,000,000 MSFS “active” players (or more…!).

Spreading that math out means there likely at least 150,000 P3D players…?

Given the extremely small sample size, and obvious (unavoidable) skews in the data, it could even be significantly higher. 😎

The only sad thing is that it does seem to be a steadily declining number, tho…

I'm not really sure there are still so many P3D users, really. It might have been true a few years ago but nowadays I think the total number is way smaller.

The thing is, you have to consider what kind of simmer would still be using P3D today, beside the actual professional usage. We're talking mostly of IFR dedicated pilots, who use very advanced aircraft that are not yet available in other sims. For example the FSL Concorde ( 😄 ) or the PMDG 747. These people have no choice but keep with P3D, and this precise category of people is the one that is most likely to know about and participate the the Navigraph survey. Beside these high-level IFR flights afficionados, the simmers that are more into other kind of flights (VFR, bush, seaplane etc...) have already departed to other sims.

Can’t say I’m surprised at the number, but it also doesn’t really matter to me.  I mostly fly the sim of my choice (v5) and I still love it.  

I completed the survey knowing what the results would be. I’ve stuck with P3Dv5 because it works for me. Plus Aivlasoft EFB isn’t compatible with MSFS24. Then the AFCADs can’t be edited as they can in P3D and FSX. The authors have retired.

If P3D doesn’t work then I know it’s down to me. Not some server issue somewhere in the world.

What’s the point in buying a new sim and then having to buy all those aircraft again. And all the airports. And FSUIPC. And ActiveSky.

And for what gain? Google Earth satellite imagery with photogrammetry buildings which only looks great below 3,000ft. My flying is 6 miles up and 12 miles up in FS Labs Concorde which incidentally isn’t available for FS24.

And once clouds spoil the view as happens quite frequently in NW Europe what are you left with? Better lighting. Really? Is that it?

With Steam’s Lossless Generation app which cost me an outrageous 8GBP I can get 60fps at pretty much any airport and that includes AIG aircraft.

As long as Hi-Fi have weather data for my sim I’m more than happy to keep it for the rest of my days.

It’s not just the leap into the unknown with MSFS24. It’s the loss of crucial apps that I couldn’t live without.

Ray I 100% agree with everything you said in your post.

 

There are probably more people using P3D that the survey reveals but it might also be the case for all the others sim.

I would say that people answering the survey are more dedicated simmers than casual simmers so a lot of xbox/Ps5 players never heard about navigraph. So for sure MSFS24 would be even higher.

 

Another kind of survey would be to check the IVAO netwaork statistics.

Currently there are 415 pilots online, split into:

6 x Microsoft FS9

9 x Microsoft FSX

7 x P3D4

2 x P3D5

17 x XP11

40 x XP12

334 x MSFS/MSFS24

As there are no P3D6 category, I have no idea where those players are catagorized. But P3D players in this real time display represents exactly 2%. Surprinsingly, there are more FS9/FSX users compared to P3D.

VATSIM would offer a better representation because there are more pilots compared to IVAO but I don't know if you can check the sim usage on VATSIM.

Edited April 25Apr 25 by sdirand

On 4/24/2026 at 10:08 PM, Ray Proudfoot said:

I completed the survey knowing what the results would be. I’ve stuck with P3Dv5 because it works for me. Plus Aivlasoft EFB isn’t compatible with MSFS24. Then the AFCADs can’t be edited as they can in P3D and FSX. The authors have retired.

If P3D doesn’t work then I know it’s down to me. Not some server issue somewhere in the world.

What’s the point in buying a new sim and then having to buy all those aircraft again. And all the airports. And FSUIPC. And ActiveSky.

And for what gain? Google Earth satellite imagery with photogrammetry buildings which only looks great below 3,000ft. My flying is 6 miles up and 12 miles up in FS Labs Concorde which incidentally isn’t available for FS24.

And once clouds spoil the view as happens quite frequently in NW Europe what are you left with? Better lighting. Really? Is that it?

With Steam’s Lossless Generation app which cost me an outrageous 8GBP I can get 60fps at pretty much any airport and that includes AIG aircraft.

As long as Hi-Fi have weather data for my sim I’m more than happy to keep it for the rest of my days.

It’s not just the leap into the unknown with MSFS24. It’s the loss of crucial apps that I couldn’t live without.

I am planning on installing P3D but I have a few questions if you would be kind enough to answer.

I would be mainly flying pmdg 748f.

1) Which version should I use? V6 or v5.xx ?

2) For ground scenery, is there a global addon ? Or is there any way to stream ortho ?

3) What are the must have addons ?

I have a very beefy system with 9800x3d and a 4090 so I am willing to go all out.

Thanks

Edited April 28Apr 28 by Baber20

I'm not sure if I still qualify as "actively" using P3D, 2nd last time I fly it, I think it's February, a short haul on PMDG744 and it CTD when cruising, I like fine, mSprak will do it.

Last time is 3 weeks ago, Try to get some practice on iFly737MAX before my FFS section. While jump in, FSUIPC unable to recognize my throttle, again... I know I can fix it with a registry clean up and restart, but com'n, I went assign throttle in P3D menu anyway (bye bye reverser). and CTD before pushback....yeah fine, zibo will do it then....

4 hours ago, Baber20 said:

I am planning on installing P3D but I have a few questions if you would be kind enough to answer.

I would be mainly flying pmdg 748f.

1) Which version should I use? V6 or v5.xx ?

2) For ground scenery, is there a global addon ? Or is there any way to stream ortho ?

3) What are the must have addons ?

I have a very beefy system with 9800x3d and a 4090 so I am willing to go all out.

Thanks

In my opinion 5.3 HF2. I don't find 5.4 as stable and it doesn't really add any features that I would use. I don't use volumetric clouds as I think legacy clouds, especially with ASCA, look better. v6 is a no go for me as FSLabs and various other addons are not compatible and it's a pain to get stuff working.

I would recommend Orbx FTX Global and the other global products as a big step forward in textures.

ChasePlane, GSX v2, ActiveSky and Navigraph Charts / AIRAC are pretty essential for an immersive experience.

You can fly with default airport scenery but the good payware airports do transform the visuals.

On 4/24/2026 at 8:08 AM, Ray Proudfoot said:

If P3D doesn’t work then I know it’s down to me. Not some server issue somewhere in the world.

What’s the point in buying a new sim and then having to buy all those aircraft again. And all the airports. And FSUIPC. And ActiveSky.

And for what gain? Google Earth satellite imagery with photogrammetry buildings which only looks great below 3,000ft. My flying is 6 miles up and 12 miles up in FS Labs Concorde which incidentally isn’t available for FS24.

And once clouds spoil the view as happens quite frequently in NW Europe what are you left with? Better lighting. Really? Is that it?

With Steam’s Lossless Generation app which cost me an outrageous 8GBP I can get 60fps at pretty much any airport and that includes AIG aircraft.

As long as Hi-Fi have weather data for my sim I’m more than happy to keep it for the rest of my days.

It’s not just the leap into the unknown with MSFS24. It’s the loss of crucial apps that I couldn’t live without.

I have had remarkably few issues with either 2020 or 2024 (other than a few days after launch for both). Had a few with P3D, and a few with XP and DCS world. Nothings perfect. 

With MSFS I just don’t feel the need to buy airports. The ones that are included are adequate. And the freeware scene is just stunning - practically anywhere you might want to go, there’s an above average airport that someone’s made for you. And yeah, there are a few where I really want it to be “right”. Usually airports that I happen to know well. And I’m willing to pay for them because they look more realistic than anything in any other sim. 

You don’t need fsuipc with MSFS, Xp, or DCS. Well, at least I’ve never run into an issue not having it…

You certainly don’t need ActiveSky - it’s built right in to the new sims. 

I say all this not to proclaim that one is better than the other, but rather that the only legit reason not to switch is the FSL Concorde. 

And I get it - for the longest time, I flew P3D for the MilViz T-38C & A, the PMDG 747-8i, the Majestic Q400, and the A2A Civ Mustang. 

After several years, other Hi Fi addons in other sims have now whittled that down to just the MilViz T-38C (which is the one they built for the IRL USAF) and the A2A Civ Mustang. 

It’s looking to be at least several more years until the Civ Mustang comes, and the T-38C will never come because the USAF yanked them from public sale. So I’ll have P3D for quite awhile yet (and I still have all my P3D addons loaded and ready to go if I ever “need” them).

But in the meantime, the other sims & addons are coming along nicely and each has their own nice experiences to offer. 🤙

 

Edited April 28Apr 28 by UrgentSiesta