When Parallel 42 hit pause on SimFX and the Immersion Packs back in May 2025, it meant the new sim lost access to some of the most beloved atmospheric effects from the 2020 era, including the team’s signature traffic contrails. As recently as April, managing director Edson Soriano was still explaining why the full SimFX experience couldn’t be replicated in MSFS 2024 at the team’s quality standards.
So today’s announcement comes with a bit of extra weight. Skytrails, a brand new contrail utility for MSFS 2024, is out now on both PC and Xbox, priced at $10 USD. And Parallel 42 is making this completely free for SimFX (2020) owners who bought through the developer’s own store.
So what is Skytrails?
The pitch is simple and quite relatable. Look up at a real-world sky on a clear day and you’ll usually spot a few white lines stretching across it, proof that thousands of other aircraft are up there with you. The skies in MSFS 2024, by contrast, can feel a little empty. Skytrails sets out to fix that.
The utility generates contrails from AI traffic, live traffic, and multiplayer aircraft. The more interesting trick might be the fictional contrail generation. When real traffic isn’t enough to populate the sky, Skytrails can intelligently generate fictional high-altitude trails and mix them with the real ones, so the world above your aircraft never feels deserted.
Everything is configurable through the in-sim EFB, with changes applying in real time. You can adjust trail density, length, and visual quality, and choose between two visibility philosophies: a scientifically correct, weather-aware mode where contrails only form under the right atmospheric conditions, or an always-visible mode for those who simply want busier skies regardless of the weather. That range goes from realistic restraint to what the developer describes as dramatic networks of trails crisscrossing the upper atmosphere.
Free for SimFX owners, with a catch
More good news: if you purchased SimFX directly from the Parallel 42 store, Skytrails is free. Just use the code GIMMETRAILS at checkout, and the developer says this is an extended offer, so there’s no rush to redeem it this weekend.
The catch is in the word “directly”. Microsoft Marketplace purchases of SimFX aren’t eligible, which Parallel 42 attributes to platform restrictions. The developer is upfront about this being one of the reasons it keeps investing in its own storefront, saying direct sales give it the freedom to take care of customers in ways that aren’t possible elsewhere. If you bought your Parallel 42 products through other stores, there’s a migration process available to move them to the direct store.
It’s hard not to read Skytrails as a statement of intent. The full SimFX suite may still be off the table for MSFS 2024, but this release shows Parallel 42 found a way to bring at least one of its signature effects to the new sim, on console as well as PC, without compromising on the quality bar the team has been so vocal about. Whether more pieces of the SimFX puzzle follow remains to be seen.
Skytrails is available now for MSFS 2024 from Parallel42.com, priced at $10 USD.
