Whilst 30 per cent of the company’s game testing force is also let go
Following rumours late last week, Microsoft has confirmed that ACES, the studio behind the hit Flight Simulator and Train Simulator series, has been closed down.
IGN quotes Microsoft PR rep Keida Rericha as stating that the decision was made “to align our people against our highest priorities.”
However, the firm hinted that ACES’ closure does not necessarily mean the end of Flight Simulator, with Rericha adding: “We are committed to the Flight Simulator franchise which has proven to be a successful PC based game for the last 27 years. You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great Live experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing specific to announce at this time.”
As the site points out, whilst this closure is the first since Microsoft announced wide scale job losses, the last year has seen a number of developers closed by the firm, including FASA (MechWarrior, ShadowRun), Ensemble (Age of Empires, Halo Wars) and Carbonated Games (Hexic, Uno).
In addition, VentureBeat reports that 30 per cent of Microsoft’s games testing team has also been let go.
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OK, since MS made the HUGE MISTAKE of shutting down the staff that develops Flight Simulator. As someone who has purchased every copy of MSFS, way back to the days where “PC Compatible” meant it would run Flight Simulator, I would like to know why MS has shot and killed the cash cow.
OR, although Bill has never given away something in his life, maybe Mr. Bill should publish the source code, and put it into the public domain. Use the same rules that are in use for Linux. IBM can still sell the heck out of version 10, since there will be a ton of folks out there who will not know how to compile and link a program.
I would like for them to give us the source because I think that taking the exterior views could be moved to the PS3, and really amped up in the hobbyist simulator cockpit.
