What is coming in the future?
Post created by @Thatflyerguy
Post edited by @Thatflyerguy
The World of Airports developer team has always been relatively open about their plans for the future, and while they never have gone as far as publishing a roadmap or dates, we do have a reasonably good understanding of what will come in the future. Things do change frequently, and a good chunk of what they unveil has never come to fruition, or took years. (Look at MSY, the 767, and Alliances, to name just a few)
Next Update
The version number of the next update is not known. If it is a minor update (3.1.2), then the most likely case is bug fixes and a handful of new liveries, although anything is possible. If it is a major update (3.2), a lot of stuff is on the table, including everything below and a good deal that isn’t.
Stuff we are reasonably confident about
This category is all the things that have been mentioned repeatedly or we know for certain is in development to some stage or another
Airports
Generic Airports
The concept of generic airports is essentially that the dev team will create several models of airports, which aren’t a realistic recreation of any particular airport, but look similar to many across the globe. The value of this system is that it enables development to be made much faster. This system will NOT replace the high-quality models that the team already produces but simply will augment them. The most played/appreciated generic airports will be upgraded to the level of realism that is expected of current airports.
The smallest variant of generic airport nears completion in early May.
Aircraft
DH64
The DH64 was confirmed by Kubasan in discord, and the next day in Devblog 28. It is currently in an advanced state of completion. It was initially planned for 3.1, but deferred without explanation. Should still arrive soon.
McDonnell Douglas MD11
The MD11 wasn’t really on anyone’s radar until very recently, when Kuba announced it was likely one of their next aircraft.
Credit to @sar for pointing this one out
Fokker 70/100
Livery painting is in progress for the Fokker.
The Fokker 70 and 100 have been in development for some time now. The above picture is from early may, but the following pictures were released all the way back in September of 2024.
Embraer ERJ
The Embraer Regional Jet, or ERJ, which encompasses the -135, -140, and -145, is one of the next up for development. The entire Embraer commercial lineup will be added, and this is likely the next section of that. All of these will of course be updated to gen 3 standard.
An ERJ-135 of Western Air, suggesting livery painting is in progress and the models are complete.
A321XLR
The A321XLR (A21NY) was confirmed by Kubasan in the mini Dev Chat on the discord server on June 15.
Airbus A330neo
The A330neo, a highly requested model, was confirmed by Kubasan in Devblog 28.
757 Passenger Versions
The 757 (excluding freighters for some reason) will be remodeled in one of the next few updates, according to Charlie, a dev.
Features
Alliances
This one had an entire Devblog dedicated to it! If you want more info, I highly recommend checking it out. Essentially, though, there will be ingame alliances, in which each member is responsible for a specific airport. The goal is to have as many routes as possible across all members. There will be a message board, and more routes = higher rating = greater rewards. Alliances will have their own set of liveries. there will be the option to jointly manage some fleet aircraft, and there will be a hangar system. New members will be added by a vote of all current members. You can also be removed. The alliance will have a global radar that shows all connections and aircraft operated by the alliance.
Scheduling/Gate Assignment
This appears to be a system that enables the Dev team to “Distribute arrivals more precisely across individual stands [and] serialize and prioritize the arrival queue.” It will NOT change how gameplay happens currently, but it will simplify the right-hand sidebar and enable the following features:
- Organize arrivals
- Prioritize flights
- Assign specific contracts to stands
- Manage aircraft sizes for each stand
These images are not final, but very close.
Upgraded GSE/Animations/Minor incidents
Flyboys are currently working on new ground incidents such as medical assistance and technical assistance. These will bring new boarding and deboarding strategies, walkarounds, and minor issues requiring technician intervention. This will lead to new purchasable vehicles and better animations. The goal is to get these animations using motion capture tech, which will be rolled out across the animation spectrum over time if successful.
Livery Customization
Livery Customization is one of the most requested features and has been for years, and the dev team has finally found a workable solution and is working on implementing it. essentially, all the liveries that are currently usable can be rotated, scaled, and repositioned on any part of the aircraft that you would normally see paint on. Not the wings or landing gear, for example. you can also add text and airline logos. This is NOT freehand painting, but it is pretty close.
Stuff we think is possible but not yet certain.
This is for things the developers have talked about or hinted at but that we cannot yet consider confirmed.
Airports
Yellowknife
Yellowknife airport in northern Canada is home to Buffalo Airlines. In the september 2024 Dev Chat, someone asked what one of the next airports would be, and Kuba responded that it would be a special one with a based airline partnership, and to expect it to take a while. Later in the dev chat, someone else asked if he could hint at the partnership, and his response was a buffalo gif. Buffalo airlines makes the most sense as an airline partner, and they are based in Yellowknife. They also operate the DC-3, which he is known to want to be added to the game.
African Airport
It has long been known that an African airport is very high on the Dev wishlist, and based on previous dev comments in dev chats, it is very likely it will be in South Africa, and more specifically either Cape Town or Johannesburg/ O.R. Tambo.
Aircraft
Douglas DC-3
Kubasan has mentioned repeatedly that the DC-3 is his favorite aircraft, and one of his top choices to add to the game. Also, if yellowknife is added, the DC-3 would likely be too, because one of the primary aircraft operated by Buffalo Airlines is the DC-3.
Features
Challenges
Almost nothing is known about this, but it was teased in a dev chat over a year ago as being an alternate way of making money that would be linked to alliances. More recently, Kubasan discussed it in a devblog, and revealed that it will essentially be a system of events which will require the alliance to coordinate to achieve tasks and earn rewards and bonuses.