Earlier this week, PMDG posted a development update on its forums. The update included some information about the 777F’s release, as well as some exciting news about the developer’s plans for its 747 series.
PMDG 747-400 and Classic
Robert Randazzo of PMDG explained in the forum post that the team has recently been given access to a wealth of information about the 747. Not just about -400 variant, which PMDG has previously developed for P3D and FSX, but also about the classic 747s, the -100, -200, and SP.
Robert explained that the first entries in the 747 line would be the 747-400 and the 747-100, but that the rest of the plane’s variants will come afterwards. The development process for these aircraft has involved gaining access to specific real-life airframes in order to collect information directly from the source.
Included in the post was a picture of the 747 Classic’s overhead panel from the modeling software, showing the high level of modeling detail that flight simmers have come to expect from PMDG. The 747 and all its variants are being developed exclusively for the upcoming MSFS2024 platform.
777F on Hold
Just as flight simmers have been eagerly awaiting the release of MSFS2024, flight sim developers have also been waiting for more information about the new simulator’s development process. This includes PMDG, which is putting its 777F on hold while it figures out the intricacies of the new platform.
As Robert puts it, “there is still so much that we do not understand about how the process of cross-platform development, distribution, sales and support are to operate.” He adds that while Microsoft’s developer briefings have provided a lot of information on some things, there are still some important aspects that have not been clarified.
For this reason, PMDG has slowed down the development of its 777F until it can figure out the transition process between MSFS2020 and MSFS2024. Despite the hold, the new variant appears to be almost fully ready, with Robert confirming that they will be giving early copies to streamers shortly.
Closing Notes
After the teaser last month, it’s nice to finally get confirmation that PMDG is indeed developing the 747 Classic as many speculated. If you’d like to view the original development update, you can do so here. If you’re interested in more PMDG news, check out our article about the 737’s latest major update here.
Feel free to join our Discord server to share your feedback on the article, screenshots from your flights or just chat with the rest of the team and the community. Click here to join the server.
