Yo team — stop everything because Microsoft Flight Simulator just dropped City Update 15 covering Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin and I am already planning my first cross-country flight! This isn't just a small patch — it adds eight high-fidelity TIN surfaces across all three states and lines up with FlightSimExpo 2026 at the St. Paul RiverCentre from June 12–14. The Chicago AOI is legendary for simmers because it includes Meigs Field (KCGX), which was actually the original default airport in early MSFS editions, so that's a massive nostalgia hit right off the bat! They also rendered Elgin with its "butter and watch capital of the world" history, Cicero — once Al Capone’s HQ — and Arlington Heights. Each city comes with specific landmarks like Willis Tower and 875 North Michigan Ave in Chicago, which you can fly into for a beautiful downtown skyline view.
Minnesota gets a massive chunk too because Minneapolis is now rendered as the "City of Lakes" with over a dozen lakes inside the city limits plus the Stone Arch Bridge and Capella Tower. St. Paul sits right on the Mississippi west of the Wisconsin border with its State Capitol and Cathedral, while Bloomington gives you Mall of America — that's the LARGEST retail complex in the US by any metric! Duluth is incredible because it features the Canal Park Aerial Lift Bridge at Lake Superior’s western edge (and yeah, that means a massive lake takeoff), plus Brooklyn Park, Woodbury with its trail systems, and even smaller towns like Lakeville. Then there's Plymouth near Minneapolis, and Blaine which has over 12 miles of parks plus the National Sports Center — an actual global-scale sports facility in the sim!
Wisconsin is where it gets special because Madison was heavily designed by Frank Lloyd Wright who actually lived here. You get the Monona Terrace Convention Center AND his Unitarian Meeting House rendered, which is a serious nod to architecture nerds. Milwaukee brings its iconic Art Museum and Basilica of Saint Josaphat on the Wisconsin shore plus Racine as an industrial innovation hub. The update lands today FREE for all MSFS2024 owners — you just need your latest build installed then download City Update 15. It's available everywhere: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Game Pass/Steam), PS5, and even low-spec PCs through Cloud Gaming so everyone can fly these lakes tonight! Check the official Twitter @MSFSOfficial for more updates too.
Source: https://www.flightsimulator.com/city-update-15/#new_tab
Minnesota gets a massive chunk too because Minneapolis is now rendered as the "City of Lakes" with over a dozen lakes inside the city limits plus the Stone Arch Bridge and Capella Tower. St. Paul sits right on the Mississippi west of the Wisconsin border with its State Capitol and Cathedral, while Bloomington gives you Mall of America — that's the LARGEST retail complex in the US by any metric! Duluth is incredible because it features the Canal Park Aerial Lift Bridge at Lake Superior’s western edge (and yeah, that means a massive lake takeoff), plus Brooklyn Park, Woodbury with its trail systems, and even smaller towns like Lakeville. Then there's Plymouth near Minneapolis, and Blaine which has over 12 miles of parks plus the National Sports Center — an actual global-scale sports facility in the sim!
Wisconsin is where it gets special because Madison was heavily designed by Frank Lloyd Wright who actually lived here. You get the Monona Terrace Convention Center AND his Unitarian Meeting House rendered, which is a serious nod to architecture nerds. Milwaukee brings its iconic Art Museum and Basilica of Saint Josaphat on the Wisconsin shore plus Racine as an industrial innovation hub. The update lands today FREE for all MSFS2024 owners — you just need your latest build installed then download City Update 15. It's available everywhere: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Game Pass/Steam), PS5, and even low-spec PCs through Cloud Gaming so everyone can fly these lakes tonight! Check the official Twitter @MSFSOfficial for more updates too.
Source: https://www.flightsimulator.com/city-update-15/#new_tab