Microsoft Flight Simulator celebrates gamescom with major updates

Today during Xbox Stream at gamescom 2021, we are proud to announce several exciting updates coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator over the next few months to PC and Xbox Series X | S.

Global update VI

Our latest global update celebrates the Germany, Austria and Switzerland region. New aerial imagery, high-resolution elevation maps, and several brand-new 3D cities in Germany, Basel in Switzerland, Graz, and Vienna in Austria are dramatically improving images of these three countries and the beautiful mountain ranges of the Alps. The team has also created by hand around 100 famous places (Points of Interest or POIs) and several airports such as Lübeck, Stuttgart, Klagenfurt and St. Gallen. The update also includes new discovery flights, landing challenges, and forest journeys that lead to simmering through this beautiful region of our planet. World Update VI will be available for download on the in-sim market for free on September 7.

Local legend I: Junkers JU-52

The team is also proud to announce a new series of releases called “Local Legends” that will coincide frequently with global updates. These aircraft are famous in the world update region, but they are often not as well known to a global audience. For World Update VI, we chose a famous German aircraft from the 1930s called the Junkers JU-52.

In Germany, the Junkers JU-52 is affectionately called “Tante JU” or “Aunt JU”. The team has gone to great lengths to recreate the aircraft in the most authentic and accurate way possible. We scan the entire plan with a high resolution digital scanner to achieve an extremely high level of detail and precision. We were fortunate to have the support of Bernd Junkers, grandson of the original designer Hugo Junkers, and we also work with an organization that preserves one of the last surviving examples of this famous aircraft. To ensure total accuracy, we consulted with one of the few pilots who flew one of the last Junkers JU-52s. The Junkers JU-52 will be available in the simulator on September 7 for $ 14.99.

Volocopter

While the “Local Legends” series celebrates the history of aviation, Microsoft Flight Simulator also works with organizations around the world that are shaping the future of aviation. We have partnered with Volocopter, a fascinating German company that has created one of the most exciting new aircraft in the world, an eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) air taxi for urban flights called “VoloCity”. In collaboration with the Volocopter team, we are integrating their electric air taxis and incorporating Volocopter’s vision for city operations of urban air mobility in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The VoloCity air taxi represents our first step towards introducing one of the most sought after aircraft – helicopters! The VoloCity air taxi will be launched in November this year.

Reno Air Races

Finally, we are pleased to announce our partnership with RARA (the Reno Air Racing Association) to bring the famous STIHL National Air Racing Championship, the fastest motorsport in the world, to Microsoft Flight Simulator. Many of the planes can fly up to 500 mph at an altitude between 50 feet and 250 feet above the ground. The Reno Air Races represent the first major expansion for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Simmers can now compete against their friends or drivers from around the world with the addition of competitive multiplayer to the simulator. The Reno Air Races expansion pack will be available this fall.

We are excited to share so much news at this year’s gamescom and look forward to an action-packed rest of the year. Heaven is calling!

Microsoft Flight Simulator is now available on Xbox Series X | S with Xbox Game Pass, Windows 10 with Xbox Game Pass for PC and Steam.

For the latest information on Microsoft Flight Simulator, stay tuned to @MSFSOfficial On twitter.