Throwing the yellow flag on this one. When I purchased Microsoft flight simulator 2020 on launch day I was up and running within an hour. I’m six and a half hours in and can’t even get past the load screen.
That was definitely not the case for me… at all. Slow download (took almost all day on gigabit), and then pretty poor performance for a couple months.
There’s not much to not believe regarding them fixing it… they can’t not fix it lol… just hope that it gets sorted in at most a day or two
Thank you for your insight.
Despite being frustrated having been getting myself ready for the launch today, I am resigned to going to bed without having played it, what was the point of the pre-order. Anyway, I also think it is some software bottle neck and not a server capacity issue, as that would be naughty!
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I’ve said it a couple of other places, but I’ll repeat it here.
There are people who are having exactly that experience with 2024.
And the forums were awash in 2020 with people complaining about having exactly what you are experiencing this time around.
They seem to have had more initial connection issues this time, while last time more people were stuck halfway through download.
And yes, it does appear this is somewhat worse than 2020’s launch was - though that was also PC only.
Finally, the plural of anecdote is not data. You cannot derive a statement about whether this launch is objectively worse by your own subjective experiences.
I got the approval for refund in about 20 minutes after I submited it. With 2 hours 24 mins on the clock in the game. I just listed in that about an hour of this time was spent at the initial loading screen, installing/decompressing the game files. No problem whatsoever.
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That’s interesting because usually it’s automated and you need to apply several times with over 2 hours gameplay before they refund and even read your reasoning.
Maybe the overwhelmingly negative reviews is overriding it.
This is what I think too. There might be a lot of requests and Steam just decided to greenlight all of them.
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Uhhh, no it’s not. A prime example would be Diablo 4 which had millions MORE people purchasing, downloading and playing this game on launch day in comparison to FS2024, with practically no server issues to speak of.
And that’s far from a one-off example either.
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I was expecting the worst but was pleasantly surprised when I was able to download MSFS at opening time and able to start playing with it but is was short lived as I got the infamous too many request message on my second try to launch the game
Steam just refunded me. I had 104 minutes of que time. Never got to even download the sim. I made it through the que twice, but got a server error both times.
For sure this launch is a total mess. I didn’t expect it but I did anticipate it might happen, still I’m seriously disappointed.
I waited 2 hours at the queue screen before I finally got in. I was at the screen with the button to start setup, but I hadn’t connected my flight stick yet as I remove it to use the desk for work.
So before setup I plugged the VKB gear in so it would be ready to configure, and… Kaboom! Instant CTD. Sigh.
Back to the 2 hour queuing screen. An overloaded buggy mess. This is going to be a long few weeks while they make this thing actually usable.
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Wow - 2 hours in the queue, finally get in, create a character, and plan a quick flight. It spawns me in at the airport, I hit ESC to change the time of day, and boom, CTD. Never change, Flight Sim…
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I’ve just seen the ratings on Steam. Overwhelmingly negative. 
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got through the queue after about 2 hours, made a character and loaded into a flight, CTD while setting controls up… back to the queue, but with hope
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What gave you the idea that this new release would be different from MSFS2020?
It’s the same show all over again, they know how many users are out there, this is no surprise to Microsoft, but they want to do it anyway, because, well they know we will put up with it, they did it once, so they can do it again, and the servers is the main issue , and you are testing the app for them ( not me).
I have been enjoying MS2020 in the last 2 years and today was even better, blazing speeds because everybody else is trying 2024. It will be really good in 2026, they promised…
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There is a video on the official MSFS YouTube channel in which Jorg and Seb explain the issue with the launch.
Have to say; Seb looks exhausted. 
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As much positive spin they would like to spout, I would say the launch was a failure:
They are close to resolving the issue because the NA market is getting ready for bed.
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Can’t wait to buy this when it goes on super steep “we’re sorry, please come back” discount.
I have had it downloaded since 9am this morning and have yet to play it because of the log in queue. Why do I have to login to play a game I spent $199 on? Thanks again Microsoft …Absolute garbage.
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Same here, I purchased the Aviator Edition, but I can’t even get past the loading screen. At this point, it feels more like a Loading Screen Simulator 2024. Extremely disappointed
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