For the second time during FlightSimExpo 2024, Microsoft took to the stage to talk about the upcoming MSFS 2024. The topic of this seminar was the MSFS Marketplace, and while the content was more aimed at developers, it contained plenty of interesting information for everyone.
First on the stage was Julie, the Head of the Marketplace Team. Julie explained how the Marketplace came to be and how the Marketplace has performed (and grown) so far. She shared some details about the Marketplace audience and broke the users and sales down per platform. She also gave some insight in how much money people are spending on the Marketplace, geographic region for purchases, the type of add-ons people purchase and add-on pricing and optimal pricing. The most popular price range is $15 to $20, with PC users willing to spend more money on a single add-on than Xbox users.
After Julie took to the stage, Mabelle, MSFS Marketplace Program Lead, came to the stage with an update on how the Marketplace will look in 2024. Without hesitation, she showed a teaser preview of the new interface that will feature in the new simulator. The Marketplace interface seems to have gotten a significant overhaul, with a banner at the top with add-ons, presumably new or featured, as well as a ‘For You’ section. She did not explain much else about the new interface.
When talking about content, she re-iterated Microsoft’s commitment to making 2020 content available in 2024. Existing 2020 content will be migrated by Asobo to 2024, but will not automatically be available in the Marketplace. Developers need to manually test and approve availability for 2024, and if the developer choses not to do this, the add-on won’t be available in 2024. The interface of the Marketplace will show whether content has been created for 2024 or 2020 through labels, giving users an indication whether or not content has been developed natively for 2024 or has been ported over. Developers can choose to create 2024 updates for their existing add-ons, using the new SDK and features available. These updates will also have the ability of upgrade pricing.
In September of 2024, Microsoft aims to release the 2024 SDK, and migrated content will be available to developers to start testing. Microsoft will also open up the submission pipeline to developers, allowing them to submit their 2024 updates.
Following Mabelle, Scott, from the Marketplace Partner Program team, took to the stage to talk more about the Marketplace Content Portal for developers. Some of the significant changes to the MCP include that the process of submitting add-ons will be automated and the add-ons will be available for testing much quicker. Another significant change for developers is that the SDK or project editor are no longer required to enter Marketplace product description and data. Updating packages has also been made more efficient for developers. Once the developer is happy with the testing status, they can submit a release request and the add-on will go through the Microsoft pipeline to enter the Marketplace. Some other changes to the MCP include sale requests, hangar descriptions and user access.
