SimWorks Studios stunned the world of MSFS with the recent release of the Kodiak 100, which quickly became one of the favorites among the community for the brilliant combination of visuals, realism, immersion, and price tag. While SWS is still trying to cope with the overnight success, with necessary server upgrades to handle future releases, the team has also revealed this week their planned roadmap for 2022, which includes a very exciting new aircraft for MSFS: the Pilatus PC-12!
SWS revealed that the studio struck a deal with Pilatus Aircraft to bring their popular PC-12 to Microsoft Flight Simulator. Interestingly, Pilatus did the same a few months ago with IRIS Simulations, but concerning the PC-9 and PC-24. It seems the Swiss manufacturer is eager to see its airplanes properly represented in MSFS!
As for the PC-12, SimWorks Studios says their goal is to have it ready by the middle of 2022, built to the same standard as the Kodiak. This is hugely promising, but we’ll take this timeline estimate with a grain of salt… after all, at some time, the Kodiak was expected for a July/August release, but it ended up being finished near the year’s end.
In any case, seeing the brilliant work the developers are doing with the Kodiak, it’s impossible not to get excited to see what they will do with the world’s most popular pressurized single-engine turboprop. In fact, SWS plans to release two variants of the aircraft: the PC-12/47, with a mixed steam/glass cockpit, and the PC-12NG, with a custom glass cockpit, currently planned for 2023.
While the PC-12 is surely the most significant update coming from SWS, the team also brought some news about the development of the Van’s RV-14 (seen above), announced last October. The team is putting the final work on this aircraft, looking to release it in February. The RV-14 will be the first of a series of Van’s airplanes SWS plans to release, to be followed by the RV-10 later this year, then by the RV-8 and RV-7 by year’s end or already in 2023.
Finally, SWS says they have also two additional projects currently under wraps, to be released before and after the PC-12, but the team is still not ready to reveal what they are. With all of these new airplanes, along with ongoing work on the amphibian version of the Kodiak (currently expected to be out in February), SimWorks Studios really have their hands full for the coming year. With the high bar set with the Kodiak, the stakes are also high for whatever comes next!
