Will Microsoft release a new Microsoft Flight Simulator in 2025 after MSFS 2024?

MSFS “2025” after MSFS 2024?

Peter — as of right now there’s no credible indication (from anything official) that Microsoft/Asobo are planning to ship a brand-new “Microsoft Flight Simulator 2025” one year after MSFS 2024.

A couple of things make this a little confusing, though, because Microsoft uses the year in the title, and the community tends to think in “annual releases” like sports games. Flight sim historically doesn’t work that way.

How to think about 2020 vs 2024
MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 are best viewed as two major product generations on the same platform lineage, not a promise that there’ll be a brand-new boxed sim every year.

There are a few reasons the 2020–2024 gap was “big,” but still normal for flight sim:

• MSFS 2020 had years of updates and world updates that effectively acted like ongoing “new versions.”
• A new generation tends to arrive when they want to make bigger platform changes (core engine/workflows/content) that are harder to deliver as just another sim update.
• Flight sim add-on ecosystems also don’t tolerate rapid hard resets very well, so they usually avoid yearly “full replacements.”

What we can realistically expect after MSFS 2024 (near term)
Without getting into rumors, the practical expectation is:

• Ongoing sim updates (bug fixes, performance tuning, stability work).
• Ongoing world/content updates.
• SDK/platform improvements over time as 3rd parties adapt and the platform matures.

In other words: a “living platform” approach, not a quick jump to a “2025” title.

What about “internet talk” and rumors?
The internet will always have speculation, “leaks,” and confident YouTube takes. Personally, I wouldn’t plan purchases or hardware upgrades around any of that unless it’s backed by something official and verifiable. With MSFS in particular, you’ll see a lot of rumor cycles that boil down to: “a big patch is coming” or “a roadmap item got misunderstood.”

Practical advice (so you don’t get burned)
If you’re deciding what to buy/install right now:

• Assume MSFS 2024 is the mainline platform for a while and will be updated rather than replaced in 12 months.
• Don’t hold off on flying because of a hypothetical “2025.” Historically, you’ll miss a lot of good sim time waiting for something that may not exist.
• When Microsoft does plan a new generation, they’ll typically message it clearly (and repeatedly) because it affects 3rd parties and the whole ecosystem.

A couple questions so I can tailor the answer to what you’re really trying to plan

• Are you asking because you’re about to buy MSFS 2024 and worried it’ll be obsolete quickly, or because you’re considering major hardware/peripheral upgrades?
• Which sim are you on today (MSFS 2020, MSFS 2024, or both)?
• Are you primarily a default-content flyer, or heavy into add-ons (airliners, scenery, VR, VATSIM, etc.)?

If you tell me your use-case, I can give more practical “buy/wait” guidance based on how Microsoft typically treats platform life cycles in flight sim.