Microsoft Flight Simulator is getting a new content update. Update 18 is now available on PC and Xbox, bringing high-resolution improvements, new landmarks, building updates, fresh airports, and more content from three European countries to the game.
Update 18 focuses on improving three games: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, three countries that feature diverse landscapes, beautiful architecture, and multiple landmarks and points of interest for exploration. To bring this update to the game, the Microsoft Flight Simulator team partnered with numerous companies, such as Bing Maps, Vexcel Imaging, Maxar Technologies, Gaya Simulations, and Orbx Simulation Systems. Together, they used new aerial photos, digital elevation models, surface modeling, and "hand-crafter" points of interest and airports.
With Update 18, Microsoft Flight Simulator received ten remastered cities:
| Germany | Switzerland | Austria |
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In addition to those cities, the game received higher-resolution elevation modeling, 116 points of interest: 42 in Germany, 38 in Austria, and 36 in Switzerland, and three new airports: Austria’s Salzburg Airport (LOWS), Germany’s Munich Airport (EDDM), and Bern Airport (LSZB) in Switzerland.
Like other updates for Microsoft Flight Simulator, today"s release adds several new activities. There are three discovery flights, three landing challenges (F/A-18E Super Hornet in Germany, Daher TBM 930 in Switzerland, and DG Aviation LS8-18 in Austria), and three bush trips that will take you through Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
Finally, there is a new premium aircraft you can purchase in the in-game store for $14.99, the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, a German-made four-engine that was introduced in 1937.
You can now download Microsoft Flight Simulator Update 18 from the in-game marketplace for free as long as the game is updated to version 1.37.19.0 or newer. The game itself is available in the Microsoft Store on Xbox Series X and S and Windows 10/11, Xbox Game Pass, and Steam on PC. You can also play it using Microsoft"s Xbox Cloud Gaming if your computer cannot handle this resource-heavy flight simulator.