Microsoft Slashes Flight Sim Team

Kris Erickson • Jan 23, 2009 • Comments ()

It seems like Sony is not the only company facing major losses in the current economic climate. Global software giant Microsoft has also announced plans to slash 5000 jobs at the company over the coming months in a bid to reduce operating costs.

Unfortunately, some of the cuts will affect games published by the company. In the latest round of job cuts, it is rumored that Microsoft will shut down its flight simulator game division. Flight Simulator has long been a staple of PC gaming at Microsoft, having first appeared way back in 1982. The most recent title released under this name was an expansion to Flight Simulator X in 2006.

The series is currently developed by ACES Studio, which is owned by Microsoft and located in Redmond, Washington. Sources from inside ACES have confirmed the job cuts to journalists via Twitter, although at the moment it is unclear which products will be affected by the cutbacks. ACES studio also develops a 3D visualization platform and a train simulator called Microsoft Train Simulator 2.

We mourn the loss of yet another game studio, and we wish the talented developers at ACES success in their future careers.