However, a Microsoft spokesman did confirm that the series will continue, saying: "We are committed to the Flight Simulator franchise which has proven to be a successful PC based game for the last 27 years."

Original story: Today's wide-ranging industry layoffs have even extended to one of the industry's stalwarts, with some Gamasutra sources claiming that much of, if not the entire Microsoft Flight Simulator team has been let go.

Microsoft earlier today announced that it would eliminate up to 5,000 jobs due to "the further deterioration of global economic conditions." The Flight Simulator PC franchise began in 1982 following the release of subLOGIC's Flight Simulator 1.00, and has since become a Microsoft standard. The most recent edition, Flight Simulator X, was released in 2006.

No word yet on what this means for the future of the Flight Simulator series.