Microsoft has revealed the next major additions coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator later this year, including the Volocopter VoloCity air taxi; updated maps for the Germany, Austria, and Switzerland regions; and a competitive online multiplayer racing mode.
First up is a new series of “Local Legends” planes that are being added to Flight Simulator, which will offer planes that are famous in a specific region that might not be as well known. The goal is to have these planes roll out alongside Flight Simulator’s world updates, so the first Local Legend plane will coincide with the upcoming World Update VI (featuring Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) and offer a hyper-realistic re-creation of the Junkers JU-52. The world update will release on September 7th, free of charge, while the Junkers JU-52 will cost $14.99.
On the flip side of things, Microsoft is also adding a far more futuristic aircraft in a November update: the VoloCity air taxi from Volocopter, an eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) helicopter with big ideas about rethinking urban mobility (even if the first real-world flights have been somewhat underwhelming.)
Lastly, this fall Microsoft is adding the Stihl National Championship Air Races as “the first major expansion” to Flight Simulator. The new expansion will be an eight-player racing mode, and it’ll allow players to fly World War II era planes at breakneck speeds to prove who’s the best pilot of all. There’s no specific release date yet, however, although it should be out sometime in the fall.
The new racing mode will feature one major break with reality, though: Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann tells Polygon that due to contractual agreements with manufacturers, the game can’t show planes being damaged, so when players collide in races, the planes will simply disappear.
