I think it's a good move. Simulators are complicated, take a lot of time, effort and money to develop and the people who fly them are only a small part of the gamer population. This means that as PCs get more powerful and we expect more features, every kind of game gradually becomes more expensive.
The difference is that most popular gaming genres can rely on their massive marketing appeal, even if they ship with short story arcs and then charge for sequels or DLC every few weeks/months. Well, you can't do that in a simulator because not only we're a cranky bunch, but it is also fundamental to have a more or less complete depiction of the theater in question, otherwise it defeats the whole purpose of the game . So, we either settle for less or the developers have to get more money to finance the whole deal. On the other hand, charging more for flight sims might shrink the amount of sales even more. So, something's got to give, but what will it be?
Now, look at Eagle Dynamics. They make simulators for the military, then they use that money to fund simulators for mass consumption that they sell at reasonable prices. The state pays a lot because it actually saves money from aircraft maintenance and jet fuel in training pilots, then that money becomes DCS Black Shark.
I think it's something like that, a government sponsorship with a certain aim (maybe not training real world military, but teaching the citizens about their history) that turns into a steadier cash flow for 1c, so that they can keep working on all the things we ask for here. Good move, everyone wins.
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