# Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition changelog > From gliders and helicopters to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and accurate aircraft in the Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th… - Vendor: Asobo Studio - Category: Games - Official site: https://www.flightsimulator.com - Tracked by: What's New (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-40th-anniversary-edition) - Harvested from: Steam (app 1250410) - Entries below: 6 (newest first) What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog. ## Releases ### World Update 21: Australia - Date: 2026-05-05 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1250410/view/676245476355345079 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-40th-anniversary-edition/releases/steam-676245476355345079 - **added** — World Update 21 adds Australia with 40 areas of interest recreated using updated photogrammetry and TIN surface texturing across all six Australian states and two main territories - **added** — New missions for pilots to explore Australian landmarks including the Sydney Opera House, the Twelve Apostles, deserts, and rainforests - **changed** — First major update to Australia since World Update 7 in January 2021, setting new standards in lifelike realism and visual fidelity _Available today, World Update 21: Australia sets a new standard in realism for pilots in the Microsoft Flight Simulator world!_ Australia is home to some of the world’s most spectacular sights and destinations, including stunning coastlines, vast deserts, beautiful mountains, and architectural marvels. Renowned attractions include the Sydney Opera House, one of the most distinctive structures in the world; the Twelve Apostles, iconic sea stacks on the Southern Ocean coastline; vast sweeps of interior desert; and lush stands of rainforest. World Update 21 delivers Australia to Microsoft Flight Simulator aviators like never before and includes a collection of missions for pilots to explore some of the finest sights that this wonderful country offers. The _Microsoft Flight Simulator_ team partnered with Bing Maps, Vexcel, Gaya and Asobo to create World Update 21, the first update to Australia in the _Microsoft Flight Simulator_ world since we released World Update 7 in January of 2021. An immense update that sets new standards in lifelike realism and visual fidelity, the release includes 40 areas of interest (AOIs) recreated using updated photogrammetry and TIN (triangulated irregular network) surface texturing. Coverage of AOIs spans all six Australian states and its two main self-governing territories. Areas of interest throughout Australia’s regions covered in this update include: ##### **New South Wales** - Albury: Located on the Bank of the Murray River, a popular tourist metropolitan area. - Blue Mountains: Known for sandstone cliffs, deep gorges, and iconic geologic formations. - Central Coast: Region of several national parks, beaches, and several picturesque towns. - Chatswood: Bustling commercial suburb in Sydney’s Lower North Shore. - Coffs Harbour: Locally called Coffs, this city is where lush mountains meet beautiful beaches of the Mid North Coast. - Minto: A modern suburb of southwestern Sydney. - Newcastle-Maitland: Located adjacent to one another north of Sydney, Newcastle is known for its beaches and Maitland is a gateway to renowned Hunter Valley vineyards. - Springwood: Nestled in the Blue Mountains, a historic town that serves as a gateway to several regional natural areas. - Sydney: The capital of New South Wales and Australia’s most populous city, it is widely heralded as one of the world’s most sophisticated metropolitan areas. - Wagga Wagga: Australia’s most populous inland city, known for its beautiful botanic gardens and rich Aboriginal history. - Wollongong: Internationally famous for its dramatic coastal setting and surfing beaches. ##### **Queensland** - Brisbane: The capital of Queensland, a modern, outdoor-oriented city hosting the 2032 Olympics. - Bundaberg: Located on the southern Queensland coast, it is one of the major gateways to the Great Barrier Reef and an important sugar cane hub. - Cairns: Located in coastal North Queensland, it is also one of the key entry points to the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics rainforest. - Gold Coast: Coastal region known for surfside skyscrapers and expansive beaches. - Hervey Bay: Located on the southern Queensland coast, one of Australia’s premier whale watching destinations. - Kippa-Ring: A renowned commercial suburb in the city of Moreton Bay on the Redcliffe Peninsula along Queensland’s southern coast. - Mackay: Called the “sugar capital” of Australia, it is a beautiful port city on Queensland’s central coast and serves the sugar cane processing and mining industries. - Sunshine Coast: One of Australia’s premier travel destinations due to its white-sand beaches, surfing, and the Australia Zoo. - Toowoomba: Australia’s second most populous inland city, known as the “Garden City” due to its more than 150 parks. - Townsville: Located on the northeastern coast of Queensland adjacent to the central portion of the Great Barrier Reef; a major industrial hub. ##### **South Australia** - Adelaide: The coastal capital of South Australia _[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1250410/view/676245476355345079]_ ### Release Notes - Sim Update 16 [1.39.9.0] Now Available - Date: 2025-08-05 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1250410/view/534357354429286864 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-40th-anniversary-edition/releases/steam-534357354429286864 ##### Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) | Sim Update 16 Release Notes - 1.39.9.0 > If you are playing on PC, outdated packages in your community folder may have an unexpected impact on the title’s performance and behavior. If you suffer from stability issues or long loading times, move your community package(s) to another folder before relaunching the title. > ##### **Stability & Performance** - Fixed a crash when attempting to reach some areas in the World (e.g. Pecs TV Tower) - Improved memory management on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X to improve stability ##### **General Bug Fixes** - Fixed bugs on timezone system; in addition, data is now more accurate (country coasts and borders, islands, etc.) ##### **World** - Aligned Bing Maps data with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 - Fixed terraforming on TIN - Changed the way water body polygons work so that overlapping polygons of the same type no longer cancel each other ##### **NavData** - Improved handling of navdata for runways that do not exist in the sim. The resolution is now only done after all scenery layers are loaded, and only transitions will be removed rather than full procedures where possible. - Fixed an issue where airports used as waypoints in instrument procedures contained a region code that prevented them from being loadable using the ICAO. ##### **Aircraft** ##### **Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner** - Fixed an issue with handling spoiler inputs that could cause the airplane to spin out of control. ##### **Cessna Citation Longitude** - Added the approach cue to the airspeed indicator and angle of attack indicator. - Added FMS initialization flow. - Added the PFD pitch limit indicator. - Fixed an issue where the THROTTLE_REVERSE_THRUST_TOGGLE key event would sometimes not work correctly even when the throttle lever position was at the full idle stop. - Fixed the scrolling behavior of the PFD CAS display. - Replaced certain PFD TAWS/GPWS annunciations with CAS messages. - The TERRAIN FAIL CAS message no longer appears when TAWS is running a self-test. - Thrust reverser deployment is now properly simulated, with deployment requiring hydraulic pressure. - FADEC now commands more realistic N1 targets while reverse thrust is active. - Disengaging the autothrottle using the autothrottle disconnect switch is now counted as a “normal” disengagement. - Added the “autothrottle” aural alert when the autothrottle is disengaged. - Added the “airspeed” aural alert when one of the autothrottle’s speed protection modes (MIN SPD or MAX SPD) is engaged. - The CABIN ALTITUDE caution CAS message now appears when there are uncommanded increases in cabin altitude. - Cabin altitude is now initialized to a sensible value when first spawning into a flight. - The pressurization DUMP switch now functions properly. - The ENGINE FAIL L/R CAS message now appears when FADEC detects an engine flameout. - The engine RUN/STOP switch halo lights now function properly. - Autothrottle now disengages when thrust reversers are in an unsafe condition. ##### **Daher TBM 930** - Added the approach cue to the airspeed indicator. - Added FMS initialization flow. - Added electronic stability and protection (ESP). - The flight director now commands a pitch of 10 degrees when the vertical GA mode is active. ##### Avionics ##### **G1000 NXI** - Added the PFD virtual pathways feature. - Fixed an issue where the runway leg of a departure or arrival procedure could be duplicated in the flight plan. - Fixed an issue where sometimes approaches added to the flight plan could have improper connections between the approach transition and the final approach segment. ##### **Garmin G3000 / G5000** - Added support for VNAV vertical track annunciations and aural alerts. - Added the ability to inhibit terrain system alerts through the GTC Terrain Settings page. - Added support for TAWS glideslope/glidepath deviation (GSD) alerts. - Fixed an issue where the map wind vector a _[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1250410/view/534357354429286864]_ ### Microsoft Flight Simulator Releases City Update 11: Northeastern United States 2 - Date: 2025-06-27 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1250410/view/534354183830111010 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-40th-anniversary-edition/releases/steam-534354183830111010 Launched in celebration of FlightSimExpo 2025, held in Providence, Rhode Island in late June, City Update 11: Northeastern United States highlights several areas of interest (AOIs) across four northeastern U.S. states: Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. This update comprises a spectacular mix of locations throughout this storied region of the United States, including portions of New England, one of the most important heritage areas in the nation. Microsoft and partners created each AOI using recent high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery, digital elevation models (DEMs), and TIN (triangulated irregular network) surface texturing. City Update 11 invites exploration throughout the sights of this historically renowned part of America, where each flight is filled with expansive vistas and intriguing landmarks. Areas of Interest included, by state: **Massachusetts** Boston: The capital of and most populous city in the state of Massachusetts, Boston serves as the primary cultural, financial, and logistical hub of the New England region. Founded in 1630, Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States and is one of the most renowned of the country’s heritage sites, notably due to its role in the American Revolution. Plymouth: The Mayflower Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620, making it one of the most important historical sites in the United States. Called “America’s Hometown,” Plymouth is located 40 miles south of Boston and is the oldest settlement in New England. **New Jersey** Northeastern New Jersey: Cities include Newark, Hackensack, and Paterson, all of which are members of the greater New York metropolitan area. Newark, one of the oldest cities in the United States, is renowned for its contribution to the industrial development of the country and as a modern transportation hub. Hackensack is known for its historical importance during the American Revolution where George Washington established a headquarters. Paterson became a key location in the Industrial Revolution due to the energy supplied by the Great Falls of the Passaic River, around which the city was initially constructed. Central Jersey: This AOI focuses on cities in the eastern portion of Central Jersey, including Elizabeth, New Brunswick, and Edison. Elizabeth was the first capital of New Jersey and is one of the state’s oldest cities. New Brunswick played an important role in the American Revolution and is an important university center. Edison (originally called Raritan Township) was named after famed American inventor Thomas Edison who established his research laboratory in the area and created several important innovations, including the incandescent light bulb and the phonograph. **New York** Brooklyn: Located on the western end of Long Island, Brooklyn is the most populous of the five boroughs of New York City. It lies just south of the borough of Queens and is connected to the borough of Manhattan by one tunnel and three bridges that span the East River. Brooklyn offers some of the most stunning views in all of New York City, notably of the Brooklyn Bridge, the East River, and lower Manhattan. Manhattan: Manhattan is one of the most renowned urban centers in the world. The smallest borough by area of the five boroughs that compose New York City, Manhattan is often cited as the capital of several global industries, including finance, media, and entertainment. Known for its iconic architecture, Manhattan is home to the tallest building in both the United States and the Western Hemisphere, One World Trade Center (1,776 feet tall), and the second tallest in the Nation and the Western Hemisphere, Central Park Tower (1,550 feet tall). Long Island’s East End: One of the most beautiful areas in the northeastern United States, Long Island’s East End is renowned for its pastoral landscapes, historic villages, colonial architecture, and maritime vistas. The update includes Southampton, one of the core towns of the well-known _[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1250410/view/534354183830111010]_ ### Sim Update 16 Beta [1.39.0.0] Available Now! - Date: 2025-05-19 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1250410/view/528720974102660469 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-40th-anniversary-edition/releases/steam-528720974102660469 Welcome to the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Sim Update 16 public beta test! ##### How to Join - Open your Steam Library - Right-click Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 - Click “Properties” - Click “Betas” - Select “flight_sim_beta – Sim Update 16" If you would like to exit the pre-release test before it ends and revert back to the live build, follow these instructions: - Open your Steam Library - Right-click Microsoft Flight Simulator - Click “Properties” - Click “Betas” - Select “None” ##### RELEASE NOTES **If you are playing on PC, outdated packages in your community folder may have an unexpected impact on the title’s performance and behavior. If you suffer from stability issues or long loading times, move your community package(s) to another folder before relaunching the title.** **[How to install a new update safely](https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017133940)** ##### [](https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/release-notes-sim-update-15-1-37-18-0-available-now/642215#new-contentfeatures-2) ##### **Stability & Performance** - Improved memory management on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X to improve stability ##### **General Bug Fixes** - Fixed bugs on Timezone system. In addition, data is now more accurate (country coasts and borders, islands, etc) ##### **World** - Changed the way water bodies polygons work so that overlapping polygons of the same type no longer cancel each other [Read full release notes](https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/sim-update-16-beta-1-39-0-0-release-notes-may-19th-2025/721971 style=button) ### Microsoft Flight Simulator Releases City Update 10: United States I - Date: 2025-04-22 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1250410/view/534347841813873671 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-40th-anniversary-edition/releases/steam-534347841813873671 This release spotlights a diverse selection of the country’s most beautiful locations, from Dallas, Texas to Honolulu, Hawaii. _Microsoft Flight Simulator City Update 10: United States I delivers five spectacular cities throughout the United States in vibrant detail: Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas; Denver, Colorado; San Francisco, California; and Honolulu, Hawaii. Each city has been crafted using the latest aerial and satellite imagery, digital elevation models (DEMs), and TIN (triangulated irregular network) surface texturing. The exquisite detail offered in this latest release will inspire aviators to explore these storied cities and admire their landmarks throughout every season, at any time of the day or night._ ##### **Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas** Dallas, and its sister city to the west, Fort Worth, were established in the 1800s as railroad hubs to serve the cotton, livestock, and oil industries of Texas. Today, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, a key urban anchor in north Texas, is the most populous metropolitan area in the state. The region is a major international hub of several industries, including manufacturing, defense, finance, and tourism. The metroplex offers spectacular sights, including the iconic Fountain Place and a 720-foot-tall modernist skyscraper in Dallas; 777 Main Street in Fort Worth, a striking building that stands 525 feet tall; and the 561-foot-tall Reunion Tower, one of the most recognizable buildings in Dallas. ##### **Denver, Colorado** Known as the “Mile High City” (its official elevation is 5,280 feet, exactly one mile above sea level), Denver is both the most populous city in Colorado and the state’s capital. Established in 1858 by prospectors who led what would come to be known as the Pike’s Peak gold rush, Denver became an important railroad city in 1870. It blossomed into a major metropolitan center in the 20th century, characterized by a stunning skyline set against the high Rocky Mountains. Some of the sights for pilots to behold include Republic Plaza, the city’s highest building at 714 feet; 1144 Fifteenth, one of the world’s most spectacular modern skyscrapers; the Rocky Mountains to its west; and the vast, oceanic plains east of Denver. ##### **San Francisco, California** Called by many the most beautiful city in the world, San Francisco is squarely located where the San Francisco Bay opens to the Pacific Ocean. The city was formally established in 1850 due to the boom in population from the California Gold Rush, which began in 1848. Set along a spectacular section of Pacific Ocean coastline, San Francisco offers a wonderful selection of sights, including the world-renowned Golden Gate Bridge; the iconic Transamerica Building; Alcatraz Island; and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. ##### **Honolulu, Hawaii** The capital and most populous city of the state of Hawaii, Honolulu is known for its beautiful architecture set against the tropical blue and green waters of the Pacific Ocean. Located on the southeastern coast of the island of Oahu, Honolulu boasts human history that dates back many centuries and was incorporated as a city in 1907. Meaning “sheltered port” in Hawaiian, Honolulu features numerous sights for the aerial visitor, including its spectacular skyline; Diamond Head, an extinct volcanic cone just to the southeast of the city; the waters of the Pacific Ocean; and the spectacular Koʻolau Range inland of the metropolitan area. City Update 10: United States I is available FREE to all owners of _Microsoft Flight Simulator _and_ Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024_. Ensure that you have the latest simulator version installed, download City Update 10, and explore. The sky is calling! _Microsoft Flight Simulator and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 are available for Xbox Series X|S and PC with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Windows, and Steam, and on Xbox One and supported mobile phones, tablets, and lower-spec PCs via Xbox Cloud Gaming. For the latest information on Micro _[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1250410/view/534347841813873671]_ ### Aircraft & Avionics Update 3 Now Available - Date: 2024-10-01 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1250410/view/4663004408920049748 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-40th-anniversary-edition/releases/steam-4663004408920049748 Aircraft and Avionics Update 3 is now available as a free download for all Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) players! If you would like to provide general feedback for each of these aircraft, please do so via the dedicated Polls & Feedback threads linked here: [Airbus A320neo V2 ](https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/airbus-a320neo-v2/642546) [Airbus A310-300](https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/airbus-a310-300/554990) [Pilatus PC-6 Porter ](https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/pilatus-pc-6/657030) The release notes are available to [browse here](https://www.flightsimulator.com/aircraft-avionics-update-3/).