Flight Simulator launches Australia-focused World Update with another gorgeous trailer

Since Microsoft Flight Simulator’s stunning debut toward the end of 2020, developer Asobo has been steadily finessing its already breathtaking map with the introduction of numerous free World Updates, each focused on giving a new part of the globe a glorious makeover – and now it’s Australia’s turn to receive all the attention.

World Update 7 – which follows similar geographical makeovers for Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the United States – is available now on Xbox and PC, bringing with it updated satellite imagery, a new digital elevation model, four new airports (plus increased detail for over 100 others), 94 new custom points of interest, and 16 new activities.

On the airport front, Flight Simulator players can now admire new handcrafted versions of Longreach (YLRE), Mount Beauty (YMBT), Paraburdoo (YPBO), and Shellharbour (YSHL). As for those points of interest, Asobo hasn’t released a full list, but a significant number of them – ranging from iconic manmade structures to stunning natural phenomenon – get an airing in the glorious new World Update 7 trailer below.

Rounding out today’s free update are those aforementioned new activities, giving players the option to embark on five new Bush Trips – Tasmania, Southeastern Australia, Northwestern Kimberly Coast, Great Barrier Reef, and Sea to Desert – plus Landing Challenges around Brisbane, Shellharbour, Mount Hotham, Katoomba, and Mabuiag. New Discovery Flights, meanwhile, serve up beautiful vistas across the Gold Coast, Sydney, Perth, Darwin, Melbourne, and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

To take get stuck into World Update 7, you’ll first need to update your game then head to the in-game Marketplace to download the Australia content.

Looking ahead, Asobo has already announced that Flight Simulator’s next World Update – focused on Iberia, including Portugal and Spain – will arrive in March, while the free Top Gun: Maverick expansion, which was originally expected to launch last year, will now arrive in May. Beyond that, expect at least four more World updates in 2022, various new Sim Updates, DLSS support, and, of course, helicopters.