In a wide-ranging interview with V1-Simulations, PMDG CEO Robert S. Randazzo revealed a strategic development shift and offered fresh details on the company’s next-generation airliner range for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.
Central to this roadmap is the decision to focus the full team on one project at a time, dramatically increasing development pace and coherence. “We were trying to do too many things at once … so October 1, we condensed almost the entire team into a single project,” Randazzo explained.
737 NG: Built from the Ground Up
PMDG’s next 737-series product for MSFS 2024 is described as more than a re-skin—it’s a near ground-up rebuild of the 737 NG with modern features and systems. Randazzo noted that work on the 737-800 variant is entering what he calls “fitness and cleanup,” with the team then pivoting quickly to the other models in the line-up: “I expect that we will have all of the heavy dev work for the 737s in 24 finished by Christmas … either two or three of the four will have been released by the end of the year.” The new 737 will also debut an enhanced sound environment described as “it finally sounds right,” built with real-world audio engineering input.
747 Classic & -400: Two Tracks, One Big Ambition
On the long-haul side, PMDG confirmed the 747 line is next in their development queue. Both the 747-100 “Classic” and the 747-400 are actively under development, but progress differs: “For the -100 the model is really far ahead and the code is catching up; for the -400 the model is far behind but the code is ahead.” Randazzo’s “betting man” estimate is that the 747-100 will launch first, followed by the -400 some months later. Among the highlights are optional avionics eras (INS carousel or modern FMS) and a native AI crew system allowing a virtual flight engineer and first officer who can handle waypoint insertion and route flows if the user delegates them.
Behind the Scenes: Tools, Transition & Ground-Handling Frustrations
Randazzo didn’t shy away from discussing the development challenges. He candidly described how PMDG’s tools and workflow for MSFS 2020 forced inefficiencies: “Something that would take me … five seconds in Prepar3D would take me 20 minutes in MSFS2020.” With MSFS 2024, things are much improved, though he says the final 10 % of real-time debugging tools is still missing. One persistent bugbear remains ground-handling physics. “The interaction between the airplane and the ground… that one thing causes me to spew expletives in the course of my day,” he admitted, referencing steering, friction and side-load modelling.
What It Means for Simmers
For users, the near-term milestone is the upgraded 737 NG in MSFS 2024—and PMDG signals this won’t be a minor update, but something built specifically for the new platform. After that, the 747 programme promises to bring multiple variants with configurable eras and AI support. While no exact release dates were given, the roadmap suggests the 737 line will appear imminently, with the 747 line rolling out in the months that follow. For those who value systems depth, legacy airliners and developer pedigree, this interview offers tangible reasons to stay excited.
More in the Future
We’ll be sure to keep a close eye on their development and keep you posted.
