It is time for another World Update from the Microsoft Flight Simulator team. Following the Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra enhancements from March, this time receiving an injection of improvements are Italy and Malta. Like previous free additions, World Update IX has newly modeled cities for further upgrading those regions, handcrafted airports, new activities for simmers, and more.
According to the developer, 20 cities have received a graphics upgrade in this update, including Rome, Naples, Venice, and Milan. This has been accomplished using "digital elevation modeling, aerial and satellite imagery, and triangulated irregular network (TIN) modeling"
Hand-crafted treatment has been given to the Palermo, Sondrio, Marina di Campo, and Bolzano airports. Over 100 new points of interest across Italy and Malta can also be found by players now, once again, all handcrafted by the studio. Other upgrades and changes include three fresh bush trips, discovery flights, and landing challenges each, along with 100 airports with more detailing than before.
Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update IX: Italy and Malta is now available to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming players, as well as Xbox and PC Game Pass subscribers. The complete patch notes can be seen here.
It has also been confirmed that the studio is working on bringing mouse and keyboard support for players who are using Xbox Cloud Gaming. Unfortunately, that feature does not have a launch date attached to it yet.
