> Why did Microsoft let the Flight Simulator franchise go to the back burner for so long? I know these vast corporations have to focus but it is still a myster

> Why did Microsoft let the Flight Simulator franchise go to the back burner for so long? I know these vast corporations have to focus but it is still a mystery to me why they let it go. The ACES Studio was dissolved in its entirety in 2009 while Don Mattrick (best known for his blunders during the Xbox One's launch and his failure to turn around Zynga) headed up Microsoft's gaming efforts. Despite the fact that it turned a small but steady profit, the thinking seemed to be that PC gaming was dead and that consoles were the future. As for why it stayed on the back burner so long, the terrain mapping team, the flight physics experts, and all the other specialized expertise in the studio was scattered to the four winds. Did Microsoft rebuild it? Who knows? While the new FS has pretty graphics, the true test will be whether it has the accurate flight physics and global map that FS grognards have come to expect or whether its a merely a coat of paint over a hollow shell.