Today Orbx announced a brand-new rendition of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (KATL) for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
The announcement, made on the developer’s official forums, will be welcomed by many, considering that fans of the airport have been waiting for a fully up-to-date version for a long time.
The add-on is indeed an up-to-date representation of the 2025 state of the airport with all the latest expansions, including the Concourse T extension.
It was developed by Matteo Veneziani, known for Orbx’s Sacramento, Burbank Hollywood, and Olbia Costa Smeralda Airports.
Below you can check out a few screenshots.
Here’s what you can expect from this massive airport.
- Complete, up-to-date 2025 rendition of KATL airport buildings and surroundings, including the latest Concourse T expansion.
- Airport layout updated to reflect the latest 2025 changes.
- Developed by a single creator, ensuring the highest level of optimization and a consistent style for airport textures and models.
- Innovative ambient occlusion technique enhances realism and texture definition.
- Ultra-high accuracy in airport structure models, based on on-site images and video. Every door, electrical line, tube, air conditioning system, and sign is placed exactly as in real life – no random objects used – ensuring maximum airport fidelity.
- Accurate ground elevation across the entire airport – Atlanta’s unique sloped runways are realistically represented, rather than using a flat terrain.
- Detailed interior modeling, based on real-world imagery.
- Animated Atlanta SkyTrain and Atlanta Metro Train, complete with detailed airport train stations.
- High-quality, photorealistic textures with handcrafted corrections.
- Custom 3D taxiway lights, including various specific ground lighting.
- Custom 3D taxiway signs, modeled to match real-world shapes and proportions.
- Custom ground poly with advanced, handmade materials that simulate real-life dirt, cracks, and wear.
- Custom GSE vehicles with airline-specific branding, unique to Atlanta, ensuring an authentic ramp experience—no default models used.
- Custom animated jetways featuring various Atlanta airport and airline brand logos.
- No use of default library objects – every object is custom-made specifically for Atlanta.
- No unnecessary, high-polygon models or unoptimized assets – every material and polygon count has been carefully chosen to ensure the best balance of quality and performance.
- Gates include correct airline assignments for a realistic AI experience.
A release date has not been shared so far, but the wait should not be long.
At the moment, no information about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 compatibility has been shared, but we’ll keep you up to date as soon as we know more. Incidentally, earlier today we received an extensive update about Microsoft’s plans for the new simulator, so you may want to check that out.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is currently available for PC and Xbox Series X|S.
If you’d like to get into flight simulation but you’re perhaps a bit intimidated by its apparent complexity, you can read our introductory guide, alongside the second episode focusing on installing add-ons, and another showcasing the basic instruments.
You can also read more flight simulation news in our latest roundup article.