Why Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is Being Review-Bombed

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is off to a rocky start, as the game’s launch has been plagued with numerous performance issues. Set for take-off on November 19, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has faced an onslaught of review-bombing from players since then. The many problems plaguing the newest entry in the beloved flying franchise have caused the game’s player-base to take a steep down-turn as the negative reviews continue to pile up.

Predecessor Microsoft Flight Simulator launched to wide-reaching acclaim from both critics and players, making the excitement leading up to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024‘s launch palpable. However, the numerous technical issues with the game have understandably caused outrage, as long queues and constant server issues have made the title nearly unplayable for many. As of now, the Xbox exclusive has “overwhelmingly negative” reviews.

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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is Facing Ongoing Review-Bombing

Technical Issues That Players Are Experiencing

Long in-game queues
Server problems
GPU strain
Missing aircraft in the library

Two of the most persistent issues have been the long waiting times and server problems. When it comes to the lengthy queues, players have reported being stuck waiting for over 30 minutes to play. In regard to server problems, many of the negative reviews on Steam state that the loading screen keeps getting stuck at 97%. Steam user Scarla8888 lamented that they had been dealing with the 97% loading loop for 65 minutes at the time of writing their negative review. The many problems appearing for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 players have been addressed by developers, as it seems like the large number of gamers playing at launch was not anticipated.

In an official X post, the MSFS Support Team states, “For users whose initial load is past 90% and no longer progressing, we recommend a reboot. Otherwise, we advise waiting to allow the loading to proceed as normal.” The developer has also increased server capacity while team members “work around the clock” to fix more issues.

According to developers, pre-launch server tests ran through scenarios of 200,000 players, but it is quite clear this number has been exceeded with, unfortunately, troublesome results. Despite the game not even being a week old yet, the player count for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has dropped by over 60%, signaling a difficult road ahead for developer Asobo Studio. In order to recapture those launch day numbers, significant improvements will have to come sooner, rather than later. Between the long waits and unsustainable GPU use, it appears that many have opted for stepping away from the game until the long list of issues are taken care of.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Can Hopefully Bounce Back From Such a Disastrous Launch

A Highly-Anticipated Release Day Ends in Disappointment

As of now, there is no telling when the significant server issues and GPU strain will be fully fixed for players. Such an anticipated game experiencing a shocking list of problems is disappointing to see. With its 2020 predecessor boasting such great success, it’s jaw-dropping to see the launch of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 go in the exact opposite direction. Between this launch and STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Xbox is having a bad week for major releases.

In addition to the positive feedback from players and critics,
Microsoft Flight Simulator
won an impressive number of awards, even winning the category of Best Sim/Strategy Game at that year’s Game Awards.

While frustrated players are tasked with waiting for the various issues and glitches to be resolved, there is at least the comfort in knowing that 2020’s Microsoft Flight Simulator is still alive and well. Only time will tell if Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be able to bounce back from such an extreme launch state, but if it does, it will hopefully recover from its onslaught of negative review scores.