Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update 23: Free Poland and Baltics Scenery, Paid An-28

Free scenery versus paid aircraft​

Two things shipped on October 26:

• World Update 23 is free to all owners of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Microsoft's instruction is to update the simulator to its latest version, then download the update. Microsoft hasn't published a separate package version number or platform-specific install steps.
• Local Legend 26, the Antonov An-28, is sold separately in the in-sim Marketplace for $14.99 USD.

Microsoft lists the sim as available on Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, PC, PlayStation 5, PS VR2, Steam, and supported phones, tablets and lower-spec PCs through Xbox Cloud Gaming. The launch posts don't break down which content is available on which platform, so check your platform's Marketplace listing before assuming everything is there.

What World Update 23 contains​

Microsoft says this is the first time the franchise has received an update dedicated to this part of Europe. Microsoft's September development update also described the region as the most-requested World Update area after Brazil, which launched in 2025.

Microsoft says it worked with Bing Places, Asobo and Gaya. The scenery package has these parts:

• 12 areas of interest (AOIs). They use updated photogrammetry, TIN (triangulated irregular network) surface texturing and digital elevation model data. Microsoft puts eight in Poland, two in Lithuania, one in Latvia and one in Estonia.
• Named photogrammetry cities.
  • Estonia: Tallinn.
  • Latvia: Riga.
  • Lithuania: Kaunas and Vilnius.
  • Poland: Gdansk, Katowice, Krakow, Lodz, Poznan, Warsaw and Wroclaw.
• 77 points of interest (POIs). These include castles, lighthouses, cathedrals, bridges and towers. Examples are Malbork Castle, Sopot Pier, Trakai Island Castle, Rundāle Palace, Kõpu Lighthouse and the Riga Radio and TV Tower.
• Five handcrafted airports by Gaya. These are Kärdla (EEKA), Jūrmala (EVJA), Palanga International (EYPA), Warsaw-Babice (EPBC) and Opole-Kamień Śląski (EPKN).

The named cities add up to 11, but Microsoft lists 12 AOIs. The launch post doesn't say which location accounts for the difference, so I won't guess.

Some coverage of the earlier announcement mentioned photogrammetry for only six cities. Those were the cities named in the September preview. The launch post names more.

Microsoft's descriptions of the airports include some history. It says Jūrmala was built in the 1930s and once served as a Soviet nuclear weapons bunker, and is now a museum and the home of the Baltic Bees aerobatic team. It says Opole-Kamień Śląski began as a German military airfield in the mid-1930s and is now a small private airfield. The site also hosts the Silesia Ring racetrack, where Porsche runs its Poland experience center. These are Microsoft's own descriptions, and I haven't checked them independently.

Activities: 2024 gets more than 2020​

Both versions get three Discovery Flights, in Warsaw, Sigulda (Latvia) and Tallinn. Both also get four airport landing activities, each paired with a specific aircraft:

The 2024 version calls these Precision Landings. The 2020 version calls them Landing Challenges.

The 2024 version also gets three extra activities:

• A Sopot Landing Challenge. It is based on Polish Red Bull Air Race pilot Łukasz Czepiela landing a custom-modified CubCrafters STOL aircraft on Sopot's wooden pier.
• A guided tour of Tatra National Park.
• One Rally Race.

The September roadmap promised five Precision Landings for 2024. The launch post lists four airport landings plus the separately named Sopot challenge. Read that as a relabeling of the announced content. I wouldn't treat it as a missing activity.

The Antonov An-28​

According to Microsoft's launch post, Local Legend 26 is a new aircraft announced alongside the update. The September roadmap credited AT Simulations as developer and promised more than 10 liveries, multiple cabin options and authentic systems. The launch post doesn't repeat those details, so I'd treat them as pre-release expectations.

Microsoft describes the An-28 as a twin-turboprop light utility STOL aircraft developed by Antonov. It has a two-person crew and can carry up to 17 passengers, 4,000 pounds of cargo, or a mix.

Microsoft's published specifications:

The post doesn't give test conditions for the performance figures, so treat them as publisher numbers.

On history, Microsoft says Antonov began the An-28 in response to a mid-1960s Aeroflot request for a small, short-range airliner. The design was based on the An-14. The An-14A turboprop proof of concept flew in 1969, and the first clean-sheet An-28 prototype flew on January 29, 1973. Production ran from 1975 to 1993, with 191 airframes built. Microsoft says many are still airworthy.

Simulation Daily adds one regional detail. It says that although the aircraft was designed in Ukraine in the Soviet era, most units were built in Poland by PZL-Mielec. That fits the Polish theme, but Microsoft's launch post doesn't mention it. Simulation Daily also notes that it is owned and financed by Orbx Simulation Systems and says its staff have editorial independence.

What this means for simmers​

For most owners, the practical steps are simple:

1. Update the simulator to its latest version.
2. Download World Update 23 from the in-sim Marketplace at no cost.
3. If you want the An-28, buy it separately for $14.99.
4. In MSFS 2024, look for the extra Sopot challenge, Tatra tour and Rally Race.

The scenery should suit anyone who likes short-hop regional flying, such as a King Air into a small private strip or a rally race across the Polish countryside. The An-28 is a natural fit for that kind of flying, and its STOL numbers suit small airfields. Whether the scenery holds up at low altitude is something only your own flights will show. Microsoft's launch posts describe the content but don't include performance or quality testing.