X-Plane 12 launches in full capacity in December

During this weekend’s FSWeekend event, Laminar Research took to the podium to announce some exciting news. In December, following the release of Early Access, X-Plane 12 will be fully released to the public. Dropping the Early Access title, the full release of the emulator means the team is confident this will finally push for release via other media.

Those waiting to get a DVD copy of X-Plane 12 will have to wait until early 2023 in order to get the emulator on physical disc.

Since the release of X-Plane 12 in Early Access, there have been 11 simulation updates that have addressed various bugs and bits of feedback from the community. There was also the addition of the ALYA-250 along with several improvements to ATC and VR.

Another major upgrade is in the pipeline for the A330 that includes the X-Plane 12. It has previously been said that the plan is to bring a functional MCDU to the aircraft. It’s been something Laminar Research has been working on for some time, but progress is being made for a high-performance, accurate MCDU.

There are also several other improvements to the A330 coming soon, including weather support, B612 fonts (for better clarity), and also RNP/GLS methods. All of this is due to come in the full release version of X-Plane 12.

VR also got a specific cue during the presentation. Laminar will implement OpenXR support, paving the way for many devices to be compatible with X-Plane 12. However, this will come after the full release of the new emulator.

While X-Plane 12 will be a full release soon, Laminar Research’s goal is still to continue improving the platform. As we saw with X-Plane 11, over time, more improvements will be made to the platform. As the team continues to evolve, they are also looking to expand their workforce with new scene developers, network engineers, marketing experts, and more.

If we hear anything else from the team over the weekend, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.