Robert Randazzo at PMDG Simulations has taken to the developer's forums to give more insight into the 737 for MSFS development progress. The team is nearing the end of the initial testing phase of the 737-700 and will hold a meeting next week to finalize the release date.

(the above photos are sourced from PMDG's March 15th 737 update)

Contextual Information

PMDG intends on including the MAX product line to complement the Next Generation products. The initial release product will be the PMDG 737-700, which will consist of the passenger, cargo, and BBJ variants of the aircraft, featuring a multitude of winglet styles, configurable options, and PMDG's classic realism. The team will release an additional variant of the 737 product line in approximately six-week intervals, including 737-600, 737-800, and 737-900 for MSFS. 

"Customer Driven Ideas"

Every 737 variant will be sold separately to allow customers more flexibility to acquire the models they desire instead of purchasing variants in a large package. Another idea touted by customers was that the team intends to treat the release phase of the 737 as if it was early access. Most features will initially be available in the aircraft, but a few features won't be possible to delegate to the product line until the product releases. These product updates will be available in two-week intervals during the initial 24 week release period. 

Features That'll Be Added After Release or Excluded Altogether.

• An all-new cockpit tablet that reflects capabilities that the out-moded Category I Boeing EFB doesn't provide will be added after release.
• New, high-resolution passenger cabins in one- and two-class configurations and a high-resolution BBJ layout and cargo layout will be added after release.
• Tweaks and updates to the model
• Various other changes to the avionics, etc
• The original ground steering program will be excluded from the MSFS version. 
• As mentioned above, the old-style EFB will be removed and replaced with the updated EFB. 

The aforementioned updates will be available to users at no cost via updates to the products. 

What's Included in the 737 Products?

Essentially, the aircraft will contain numerous features, with customized performance data, accurate flight modeling, complete flight management, realistic autopilot, and functioning LNAV, VNAV.

"How is the performance?"

Performance "remains quite good" the 737 should run fine if your setup can already handle other third-party aircraft. Randazzo's rig, featuring an early i9 and 2080Ti, can run the 737 well at default airports. He provided Drzewiecki Design's RNT as an example, which offers 40-45fps with the 737 in-sim, and default airports such as FMEE provide mid-to-low 50s.  

Discounts

Users should not expect any discount/trade-in or upgrade programs for the 737 product line, except for one scenario. If you purchased the 737 NGXu for P3D when the team offered a transition program for those who desired to buy the MSFS 737 at release, you would receive a $99.99 credit towards purchasing the 737 MSFS product line. This credit offer only applies to those who purchased the NGXu before December 31st, 2019. 

Product Pricing is TBA at the Moment

Final Thoughts

Robert has shifted his focus to recording some videos to showcase the aircraft's depth and features (PMDGs YouTube channel). He mentions that this series will not be a tutorial but rather "serve as small bites of information that will allow you to quickly see the depth of features available to you as a PMDG 737 product line user." Beta testers will be able to share information and media about the upcoming aircraft beginning of next week. 

As we all await the forthcoming news from PMDG in the coming weeks, stay tuned with Threshold as we report on all the news originating from the simulator world.