Navigraph have taken to YouTube to share their plans for Microsoft Flight Simulator going forward, in a 10-minute piece-to-camera from CEO Magnus Axholt.

Threshold have summarised the video, which is viewable here.

Axholt begins by commenting on Asobo Studio's excellent public relations strategy, drip feeding the community with new screenshots and information about the first flagship Flight Simulator title since 2006. He says the end product is "nothing short of amazing."

He explains that the simulator's heavy focus on low-level flight will act as a bridge between the gaming community and the aviation industry for the countless new users the simulator brings in.

With the announcement of NAVBLUE as a simulator partner, Microsoft Flight Simulator now gains up-to-date AIRAC information by default. This was previously a market occupied exclusively by Navigraph and to a lesser extent Aerosoft.

Interestingly, Axholt is positive about the change this brings, saying that their navigational data service "will become more important than ever".

He explains that beyond the end users, products such as third party aircraft, instructor stations and other avionics may not read directly from the NAVBLUE database included by default for reasons ranging from SDK issues to a lack of information in the default AIRAC. This is where Navigraph steps in, he says.

Axholt explains that Navigraph have spent over ten years working with over 100 addon formats and networking with "all major addon developers" to ensure compatibility.

"When you choose Navigraph, you know that you will have consistent, high quality data. We will make sure that you have unified data everywhere in the ecosystem, both inside and outside of the simulator, whatever simulator you fly and whichever network you decide to connect on.

"We see it as our responsibility to continue to supply the flight simulation community with a unified data set across all parts of the ecosystem."

Axholt also mentions that based on Navigraph's survey results, users prefer Jeppesen data - both AIRAC and chart data - in their simulator. Jeppesen is the Boeing-affiliated competitor of NAVBLUE, who are owned by Airbus.

Navigraph's offering for the new simulator will be extended to APIs which can be integrated 'directly into the addon software' - an example of this being X-Plane Mobile.

End-user nav data will also be available via the group's FMS Data Manager tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator, replacing the default NAVBLUE data in a similar fashion to that of X-Plane. This means Jeppesen data will be available in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The group described the following reasons for wanting to update their nav data to Navigraph's offering:

Unified data across the 'flight simulation ecosystem', which includes software and websites outside of the sim.

Charts. Navigraph's Charts function will match up with the nav data as they are provided by Jeppesen as well. The Jeppesen database is 'by far the largest available in the world.'

Bringing us on to Navigraph Charts, the software will be ready to use with Microsoft Flight Simulator on release - including moving maps through an update to the Simlink addon.

A new version - v8.0 - will be available from Navigraph and the integrated marketplace, with the promise of VFR charts to match the simulator's 'stunning visuals'.

Charts API for developers is another way in which Navigraph plans to bring their product line to Microsoft Flight Simulator, a product already used in PMDG, Aerosoft and QualityWings aircraft.

"Blue skies, everyone", Axholt concludes.

See the full video here.