Microsoft Flight Simulator adding multiplayer races in first expansion
With WW2 fighter planes, it's dubbed "the fastest motorsport on Earth"
Competitive multiplayer plane races are coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator with an expansion based on a real-world event with vintage WW2 planes, Microsoft announced today. This will see vintage aircraft zooming around in what the organisers claim is "the fastest motorsport on Earth". Microsoft also detailed plans for content updates, including the upcoming overhaul of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and the addition of both a vintage German aircraft and a newfangled German VTOL air taxi. Hey, it's Gamescom, gotta play to the German audience.
So! Coming in autumn, the Reno Air Races expansion will add competitive multiplayer. It's based on the real TIHL National Championship Air Races, whose various categories include vintage World War 2 fighter planes and classic jets like the De Havilland Vampire. Probably no guns, though.
Before that, we'll get World Update 6 on September 7th (following a recent delay). A new trailer showed off Asobo's overhauls Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. As with previous World Updates, they're improving the terrain data, improving some cities with photo-scanned data, adding custom-made models of landmarks, adding new missions to tour these countries, and such.
They're going a bit beyond with this World Update, though. They're also adding local airplanes to give extra regional flair, and it sounds like they'll be adding such "local legends" in future updates. Looking back, they're whacking in the Junkers Ju 52, a German transport plane from the 1930s. Microsoft say that they're spoken to folks including its creator's grandson and a pilot, aiming to give a sense of history and check it sounds and feels right.
It's not all old, mind. In November they'll release the Volocity, a drone-like electric VTOL aircraft from Germany which is intended to be an urban air taxi. They say this is the "first step toward the introduction of one of the widely requested aircraft – helicopters". Well well well!
See today's announcement for more info on all the newness.