PMDG Development Update, 777 Teasers

PMDG’s Robert Randazzo has shared a new development update alongside some previews of the upcoming Boeing 777 for MSFS. In the development update, Randazzo goes over the current testing and development status of the 777, some issues with the 737 on Xbox, as well as PMDG’s (lack of) attendance at FSExpo 2024.

Starting with the 777 for MSFS, testing and development are well on their way. The team is busy putting the final touches to the 777-300ER and getting it ready for release. These final touches contain enabling the datalink capability, as well as moving to a new navigation database structure, allowing for full RNP/RNAV capabilities as requested by many. While this has been going on, the team is also slowly getting the 777F ready for testing, among other things.

Randazzo also addressed the anticipated release date for the 777 for MSFS. During a development stream in March, he mentioned an estimate of two months, which would put the release sometime during May. Unfortunately, this release window seems to have slipped a little, but Randazzo shares his confidence that a release should be coming closer. The two week notice before release still applies, so we’ll know ahead when the 777 for MSFS will release rather than it being a surprise announcement.

737 for MSFS

The development update also details some issues going on with the 737 for the Xbox, particularly with a bug that prevents the aircraft from communicating with the EFB. This issue seems to be caused by Microsoft’s intake tools to publish add-ons on the MSFS Marketplace. PMDG, Asobo and Microsoft are investigating this issue.

FSExpo 2024

Last but not least, Randazzo confirmed that the PMDG team will not be attending FSExpo 2024. This seems mostly due to a scheduling conflict, as well as the current focus on the 777 for MSFS, and the team did not want a poorly staffed booth at the exhibition.

With all that said, Randazzo did leave us with two teaser images for the upcoming 777. The first one is a shot taken in darkness, although you can see into the cockpit of the 777 a little bit. The second teaser was uploaded on PMDG’s Facebook page, and appears to show the centre pedestal of the aircraft.