MSFS @ Gamescom: City Update 1, awesome new airplanes, and more!
Gamescom is now underway in Cologne, Germany, and, as expected, it brings a bunch of exciting news and content for Microsoft Flight Simulator!
The MSFS team had promised last week that we would learn more about some cool new stuff coming soon to the simulator. This promise has now revealed itself as a series of immediate releases and exciting new announcements tied to the 40th Anniversary Edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator, which will celebrate Microsoft’s longest-running game franchise later this year, in November.
Let’s start with a new kind of content update that is now being introduced: City Update 1. It’s exclusively aimed at improving the scenery of a specific number of cities in the simulator, starting with brand new photogrammetry for five German cities: Hanover, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Bonn, and, of course, Cologne, the home of Gamescom.
City Update 1 is available right now in the MSFS Marketplace. It’s free and compatible with the PC and Xbox versions of MSFS and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Also out today is a new airplane, Local Legend #6. It’s another aircraft in the Junkers family, just like last year’s Ju-52. This time it’s the Junkers F 13 to come to the simulator, the world’s first transport airplane made entirely of metal. Introduced in 1919, it’s now more than 100 years old!
The Junkers F 13 is available now in four variants: vintage with standard landing gear, vintage with floats, vintage with skis, and a replica variation. Microsoft says that this version for MSFS “combines the performance of this vintage classic with the safety characteristics of a modern aircraft”. This interesting mix of old and new can be yours for just $14.99.
Finally, the MSFS team revealed exciting new details about the upcoming 40th Anniversary Edition of MSFS. We already knew that gliders and helicopters would make their official appearance with this celebratory edition of MSFS, along with a truly spectacular list of new airplanes. These will include the Airbus A310, a study-level airliner, the DC-3, the DHC-2 Beaver, and the Wright Flyer, among others.
Today, the MSFS team revealed a few new aircraft additions to the list of airplanes coming in November. It will be an inspiring time for those who love old vintage airplanes, with new historically significant airplanes announced today: the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny from 1915, the Grumman G-21 A Goose (these two are being developed by iniBuilds), and the iconic Hughes H-4 Hercules Spruce Goose, the gigantic flying boat that, unfortunately, never went beyond a prototype. It will finally fly thanks to Microsoft Flight Simulator!
To celebrate all these announcements, we got three gorgeous new trailers that provide a good view of the improvements brought up to the 5 German cities with City Update 1, and also a glimpse into the glorious new airplanes, both the F 13 launching today and some of the ones coming later this year with the 40th Anniversary Edition of MSFS.
