Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has kicked off Independence Day weekend with a free gift for every pilot: World Update 22, a sweeping celebration of the United States' National Parks that arrived a couple of days ahead of its planned July 4 date. It is a fitting theme for the country's 250th anniversary, and one of the most scenic free updates the sim has ever shipped.
The trailer, revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase in June, gives a taste of the canyons, peaks and coastlines you can now soar over.
What is in World Update 22
Developer Asobo Studio has packed the update with 31 areas of interest rebuilt using updated photogrammetry, TIN surface texturing and digital elevation modelling, so the terrain reads far more convincingly from the cockpit. The roll call of destinations is a bucket list in itself: the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Glacier, Grand Teton, Mount Rainier, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Rocky Mountain, Canyonlands, Badlands and the Great Smoky Mountains all feature, alongside the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
On top of the parks themselves, the update layers in 46 new points of interest - visitor centres, lodges, lookouts and standalone natural landmarks such as Shiprock in New Mexico, the Totem Pole in Arizona and Delicate Arch in Utah. There are also nine discovery flights spanning Acadia, Arches, Everglades, Olympic and more, giving newcomers a curated way to explore without planning a route from scratch.
Guided tours make their debut
The headline feature for longtime simmers is the arrival of guided tours in MSFS 2024. Three launch tours - Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon and Grand Teton - walk you through the landscape with a structured, narrated flight path, a first for the 2024 edition and a clear signpost for how Asobo wants to make the sim more welcoming to explorers rather than just aviators chasing checklists.
There is a bonus tucked inside, too. The Goodyear Blimp, built by iniBuilds as part of a renewed Goodyear and Microsoft partnership tied to the 250th anniversary, is included free - a slow, sightseeing-friendly aircraft that suits the leisurely tone of the whole update.
Free, and available now
As with every World Update, this one is free for all owners of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it dropped two days early - so there is no need to wait for the holiday itself. Simply update the sim and the new scenery, points of interest, discovery flights, guided tours and the Goodyear Blimp are yours.
Asobo is not done for the year, either. The studio has confirmed that the National Championship Air Races are coming to the sim in Fall 2026, adding a competitive, high-speed counterpoint to World Update 22's more contemplative sightseeing. For now, though, the invitation is simple: pick a park, throttle up, and go see America from the air.
