Microsoft Releases Minor Stability Patch for MSFS 2020

Microsoft has rolled out a new minor update for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, and while this one may not come with flashy new features or headline-grabbing aircraft, it does bring something many simmers will gladly take: improved stability. Sim Update 16.1 (version 1.39.12.0) officially went live on March 2, 2026 and focuses on fixing a handful of crash-related issues across PC and Xbox.

One of the biggest fixes in this update targets a boot crash affecting some NVIDIA users on PC. For pilots who were getting grounded before even reaching the main menu, that alone makes this patch worth the download. Microsoft also addressed a more specific issue involving corrupted GPU allocations tied to empty vector shapes, a bug that had been causing crashes over the South Island of New Zealand for users running World Update 12 with DirectX 12 enabled.

Xbox users were not left out of the repair hangar either. According to the official release notes, the update also fixes a crash related to input handling on Xbox systems. On top of that, Microsoft included an SDK-side fix for developers, resolving a random SimConnect crash that could happen when data definitions were cleared while active requests were still referencing them.

What makes this patch especially notable is that Microsoft framed it as a carefully watched stability release. In the official notes posted ahead of launch, the team said they had been monitoring feedback during flighting but also noted that flighting telemetry for MSFS 2020 has become less reliable since the arrival of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Because of that, the developers even prepared a fallback version of the update in case the intended 16.1 release created new problems.

For the average simmer, this is the kind of update that may not look exciting on paper, but it could make a real difference where it counts. Fewer startup crashes, fewer location-specific CTDs, and better platform stability are the sort of quiet improvements that help keep flights smooth from pushback to parking.

If you're still flying regularly in MSFS 2020, this is one update you'll probably want to install before your next trip.

The post Microsoft Releases Minor Stability Patch for MSFS 2020 appeared first on Sky Blue Radio.



via: https://skyblueradio.com/microsoft-stability-patch-msfs-2020/