My guess is 2024. Then you will have to buy MSFS 2024, just as has happened over the last 40 years.
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We are already on to the second iteration of the reboot: version one was āMicrosoft Flight Simulatorā, the new and current version is āMicrosoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Editionā.
No doubt there will be further incremental changes as time goes on, perhaps even a major overhaul such as we experience with Windows. And possibly offshoots such as Reno where we have to pay. But I very much doubt there will ever be a time where we are asked to start again, pay again, for the core offering. Those days are long gone.
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I canāt see what FS2024 would have that isnāt currently offered in MS2020.
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I think they could justify a totally new beginning if one day the source data and hardware to run it affordably is available to have super high resolution ground texture globally, and very detailed photogrammetry (down to street furniture level: benches, lamp posts, fences scale) everywhere. No wonkyness. But that is a long way off!
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Personally, I would not be surprised at anything that happens with MS products.
With FSX, after two service pack updates, the Aces team were apparently sacked with no warning, and the franchise sold off by MS. The successor (MS Flight) was introduced, then abandoned.
Links, a golf game (first released by the independent firm Access in 1990) won the āAction Game of the Yearā in 1991, was acquired by MS in 1999, then discontinued for PC in 2003. Also in 2003, MS released Links 2004 for the XBox, which was then effectively sold off in 2004 and finally discontinued in 2006.
Windows 10 was originally stated (by MS) as being the final version of Windows. But now that Windows 11 has (unexpectedly) been released, Windows 10 has an expiry date.
I know Jorg is dedicated to making this simulator as successful and long-lasting as possible, but he is only a single cog in a very large machine. We can only hope for the best, and enjoy it while we can.
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When Jorg talked about support for 10 years he spoke as an authorised representative of Microsoft. Many people have made considerable investments based on that - Iāve just spent over Ā£5,000 on a fully upgraded pc solely to play MSFS. Sure, he can play that down now and āalter his statementā as N316TS puts it, but were they to back-track on that pledge then they will wide open to a class action lawsuit.
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#Facepalm seriously? 
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Yes, of course.
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ā¦no words, Iāll leave it here I think!
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They just want you to pay again. They cannot continue developments on this scale without being paid.
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Tell that to an X-Box user.
See above.
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My thoughts exactly!
Additionally Iām making sure to purchase a ālocal legendā and āfamous flyerā addon now and again, and I sincerely hope, that MS does not anytime soon decide that it does not need a fully fledged photogrammetry model of the world any longer
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I could see a subscription type model in the future given the way games are marketed these days. Very few games now stay āvanillaā for very long
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I never buy in the Market place, only at Simmarket, ORBX and websites like that.
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Good for you. Me neither.
My point was that XBox users donāt have that choice; Microsoft / Asobo are raking in more than enough money from the Marketplace to pay for future developments - and that is a good thing.
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Good point. Iām also on Xbox and have only the marketplace to use.
However, the people probably spending thousands of dollars for add-one are the heavy duty flight simmers that use PC. And from what I read, probably the majority of them donāt use the marketplace.
The amount of Xbox players need to be so high that all their small purchases are a lot higher than the loss of the PC people buying in other stores.
But maybe Iām underestimating how much Xbox players pay for addons with their limited capabilities to due missing WASM and vastly limited peripherals support.
I instinctively object to subscription models because once they depreciate the game you have nothing. Non-subscription games leave you with something after support ends. - I can still install and run FSX and my purchased aircraft to this day if I want.
If they want to do a subscription model, there needs to be a way to reinstall and re-activate the game when support ends.
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Microsoft collects 170 billion in turnover and the Sim is far very far from being finished and MFS is not XP so itās not the same budget and MFS has a lot more to use so donāt worry about Microsoft and Asobo
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Maybe that would have kept some 3rd party devs from wanting to develop for the sim and MSFS needs a vibrant ecosystem to thrive.
What I wonder is, if the Marketplace is their main source of revenue, why donāt they put more effort into making it more efficient and consumer-friendly. As matters stand now, from a customerās perspective, I see see only one good reason to buy from the Marketplace and that is having all the addons in one place and being able to update them from there. When MSFS came out, I really liked the idea and wanted to purchase only from there, but it didnāt take very long until I started to buy from other platforms because new releases or updates were that delayed. Some addons arenāt even available. Now that Iām back to the chaos I was in with previous sims I see little reason in prioritizing the Marketplace.
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Exactly, I was very eager to buy from the Marketplace but at release and for a long time it was horrible, including recurrent failed downloads, poor interface, slow (1 month after) updates, ā¦
They likely discouraged a few customers to buy on their store this way 