Microsoft Flight Simulator Adds Free City Update 15 for Midwest

Microsoft Flight Simulator released City Update 15 for the U.S. Midwest on June 12, 2026. The update is free for owners of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and arrived the same day FlightSimExpo 2026 opened at the St. Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minnesota.

City Update 15 delivers eight areas of interest across Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The update applies triangulated irregular network (TIN) surface texturing and expanded photogrammetry and surface data to increase terrain and urban detail in the designated regions.

Coverage in Illinois centers on Chicago and nearby suburbs, including Elgin, Cicero and Arlington Heights. The Twin Cities area coverage includes Minneapolis, St. Paul and suburbs such as Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Woodbury, Lakeville, Plymouth and Blaine, plus Duluth on Lake Superior. Wisconsin coverage highlights Milwaukee, Madison and Racine.

The update improves landmark and shoreline rendering. In Chicago, landmarks such as Willis Tower, 875 North Michigan Avenue and Millennium Park are rendered with greater surface detail, and the release notes reference the city’s historical link to Meigs Field. In the Twin Cities, areas with higher-resolution mapping include the Stone Arch Bridge and the Minnesota State Capitol. In Wisconsin, the update refines river and lake shorelines around Milwaukee and Madison and adds surface detail for sites such as the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Basilica of Saint Josaphat.

Players can install City Update 15 by updating to the latest simulator build and downloading the update inside the game. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 runs on Xbox Series X|S and PC and is available through Xbox Game Pass on console and PC, the Microsoft Store and Steam. The simulator also supports PlayStation 5 and offers Xbox Cloud Gaming for supported mobile devices and lower-spec PCs.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Team release notes list the included areas and technical changes and advise users to confirm they are running the most recent simulator build before downloading City Update 15. No direct quotations were included beyond those release notes.

City Update 15 is part of Microsoft’s program of free regional updates that target urban centers and transport corridors within the simulator platform.