PMDG’s long-awaited 737 for Xbox to be released on May 18 or 25, livery packages to follow
PMDG has announced the imminent release of the PMDG 737 for Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox. After previous estimates pointing at a release at the end of April, the studio is now confident that the 737 is finally landing on the consoles within days. The release date is expected to be either May 18 or May 25, according to PMDG founder Robert Randazzo.
In the latest update, Randazzo revealed that the Xbox-ready build of the 737 has now been sent to the Marketplace. Whilst the team will be conducting internal testing on Xbox to ensure everything runs smoothly, Randazzo doesn’t anticipate any issues. It really seems that, finally, PMDG’s beloved 737s will make their way to the Xbox, marking the arrival of the most-comprehensive aircraft simulation to date on consoles.
Randazzo says that the Xbox version’s liveries have been submitted, although Microsoft has yet to acknowledge or process them. Originally, PMDG had intended to wait for the liveries to be accepted before releasing the 737s, but based on community feedback, the company has decided to go ahead with the release once the 737s pass the intake process.
Unfortunately, PMDG revealed that the livery packages for each product will come with a price tag of $4.99, contrary to previous plans to offer them for free. This decision was necessitated by a long-established detail in the Microsoft Marketplace agreement requiring a minimum pricing for an item.
On another note, the elusive PMDG Universal Flight Tablet for the 737 is nearing its final stages of refinement. This feature has long been in development as it’s being reimagined for the MSFS environment. PMDG says that Navigraph and Simbrief users will particularly appreciate the attention to detail that has gone into seamlessly integrating their technology into the tablet
The release of the tablet will introduce several features, with more to be added over time. Randazzo chose again not to project a release timeline for the tablet but promised to share more details once he gets the green light.
In the meantime, work on the PMDG 777 for MSFS is progressing steadily. Although some development time has been diverted to support the 737, tablet development, and Xbox testing, Randazzo expressed satisfaction with the project’s progress. He mentioned that the team is using insights gained during the 737 development to achieve impressive results with the 777. Expect to learn more about this project and see its first images later this year!
