Sad News - ACES future in Question!

[pete]

Well, I can't say this is completely unexpected, but...

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_i ... tory=21981

MS has axed layed off (nearly?) the entire ACES studio!

This means, no TrainSim2, no FS11, and no ESP either anytime soon at least...

[ShaneG_old]

Is there no way for some other party to pick up and develop these? Or is it Way more complicated than that? (excuse my ignorance on this one. ) I can't believe the MSFS series wasn't deemed a valuable enough product to keep in development. Although I can see how they can expect FSX to carry a longer shelf life, giving the tech more time to catch up. But still, that seems like a rather drastic move on M$ part. :-/

[NickN]

Hang on a second... are we sure MS is cutting the entire franchise or is this just a cutback?

I have not seen anything that says FS11 and Trains/ESP2 is completely canceled although Aces cuts I was aware of




The future of the three software lines in or out of house is unclear, particularly given how extensive the ACES Studio layoffs are said to be, but Gamasutra has contacted Microsoft for comment on the report.

[clouds]

Sad news guys hope its not all so true

[NickN]

Before we go posting that FS11 and all of the MS franchise game projects are canned.. lets get the story first

I know about Aces but that does NOT mean the projects will be canned perminantly until official word of that is released!

[a1]

Big cuts not all projects scrapped yet. Still this department is in peril. i hope it gets back to where it was while it was developing the flight sims.

[Ravang]

Well with the current state of the economy MS probably is going to be forced to cut back on a lot of things, I just hope they can pull themselves back together once the dust clears...

I know a lot of places are having to cut back on things to save money, I hope that they will be able to return to their jobs and continue with FS.  

[Fr. Bill]

Hang on a second... are we sure MS is cutting the entire franchise or is this just a cutback?

Well, it was Phil Taylor (remember him?) who broke the news at AVSIM.  According to what he's learned, at this time nearly everyone has been layed off.

I haven't heard what is going to happen to ESP, but given their contract obligations to government and commercial entities, it is likely that some level of support will continue.

As soon as I learn more from my own sources, I'll let everyone know.

[NickN]

Hang on a second... are we sure MS is cutting the entire franchise or is this just a cutback?

Well, it was Phil Taylor (remember him?) who broke the news at AVSIM.

[Ravang]

Hang on a second... are we sure MS is cutting the entire franchise or is this just a cutback?

Well, it was Phil Taylor (remember him?) who broke the news at AVSIM.

[NickN]

Hang on a second... are we sure MS is cutting the entire franchise or is this just a cutback?

Well, it was Phil Taylor (remember him?) who broke the news at AVSIM.

[Boikat]

I'm with Nick.  Let's not panic just yet.  Let's wait until something is actually announced, then, if needed we can run around in circles.  Not that doing so would do any good.

Personally, I'm going to be optimistic.

[SubZer0]

I doubt they're canning the MSFS franchise forever... like Nick says, it may be a setback for now that the economy is in big, big trouble. I do think that when the economy is back in order (a good, good time from now unfortunately) they will continue their work on FS11 and other things

[Wing Nut]

I think even if we're not looking at the cancellation of the FS line, then we're at least looking at significant delays until the next version; possibly several more years.  If anything perhaps we can hope for another expansion pack or two to tide us over until then...

Look at it this way:  MS isn't going to just drop one of the most successful titles in the history of gaming without an afterthought.  If it is significantly delayed, this could be a boon to FS.  Some of these people will move on, allowing for fresh blood to come in when it is picked up again.  The people who remain will have had time to regroup and come up with new ideas.   We could see a totally new kind of FS come out of this.

It may just be the optimist in me, but some times these things work out for the best...

Kevin

[NickN]

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