Australia was last in the spotlight back in February 2022, when World Update 7 brought photogrammetry to eleven cities including Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, along with 94 custom points of interest developed by Orbx. That was over four years ago. On May 5, the continent gets its first dedicated update since then and it looks to be quite substantial!
The update was announced yesterday during the April developer livestream, where Jörg Neumann also revealed the full 2026 roadmap and a first look at Expert Series 2.
World Update 21: Australia is being developed in partnership with Gaya Simulations and Azure Maps, and Jörg Neumann described the number of new areas of interest as the highest the team has ever delivered in a single world update. More than 30 new areas are included, plus updates to existing locations from World Update 7 that have since fallen behind in quality. Six new handcrafted airports are also part of the package, along with 29 new points of interest.
Major cities getting significant expansions include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, and Darwin. Melbourne is particularly notable, with Jörg mentioning coverage of around 2,500 square kilometres of photogrammetry. Canberra is a first, as the Australian capital hasn’t previously received dedicated photogrammetry treatment in the sim. Darwin is also new to the list.
Jörg noted during the stream that the aerial data situation for this update has improved, with the team now working directly through their own share of the Azure Maps data pipeline rather than having to negotiate changes through an intermediary. That shift, he said, gives them more control over what gets included and how it looks.
On the activities side, the update brings 3 discovery flights, 4 precision landings and 2 low altitude challenges for MSFS 2024, and 3 landing challenges and 1 bush trip for MSFS 2020. Two rally race challenges round out the content for 2024 players.
Alongside the world update, Local Legend 24 will be the CAC Boomerang, developed by iniBuilds. The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Boomerang is the only combat aircraft to have been entirely designed and manufactured in Australia, built between 1942 and 1945 in response to the threat of Japanese expansion in the Pacific. Around 250 were produced. iniBuilds, who have been increasingly active in the first-party aircraft space, are handling the development.
World Update 21: Australia launches May 5, free for all MSFS users.
