Liftoff — patch notes and updates
Stored observation / content update:
Dated developer announcements recorded from Steam. Open the source for the complete update.
| Update | Date | Excerpt / source |
|---|---|---|
| Update 1.7.2 released! | 2026-04-23 | Sometimes the best upgrades don’t make a big entrance, they just quietly make everything better. This update is full of those small-but-satisfying improvements.The big highlight: Steam Cloud support (Yes, the one you’ve been asking about, we heard you 😉). Your drone setups, track creations, and personal records are now safely stored in the cloud. You can pick up right where you left off, whether you’re switching rigs or dusting off your sticks after a “strategic break.” ChangelistAdded Steam Cloud supportAdded 'Report a Problem' to the main menu and pause menu. If you run into a technical problem in Liftoff, you can now immediately send a te |
| Update 1.7.1 released! | 2026-03-25 | "so i have reached over the 5000hrs on Liftoff and still my favourite sim of all time.." the conversation started. Then came the question: “Would it be possible to include my design in Liftoff?” Our answer: “Yes. Let’s make it happen!” Meet the Hell Cat! Created by Fly D.Signs and designed by FPV Fly. Born in the depths of Hell through fire and brimstone, the Hell Cat was built with a single purpose: to fly. And it shows. This part brings a bold new feel to your setup, offering a unique balance of style and capability for those ready to push things further. You can check out the real version here. It’s ready and waiting for you in-game. Take |
| You broke our player record. Again. | 2026-02-15 | “We’ll support Liftoff as long as there’s a community.” we declared when we first launched Liftoff on Steam. Well… you absolute legends never left. It’s been over 10 years. Ten. A whole decade. Some of you learned to solder, crashed 40,000 virtual quads, and possibly grew actual children in that time.Today we just broke our concurrent player numbers for Liftoff! No wonder, 20,000 new pilots joined in 2026 already (and its only February 🤯)At this rate, we’ll be pushing updates from a retirement home:“Patch 86.7.4 is live. Please excuse the delay, bingo night ran long.”Seriously though, thank you for sticking with us. To celebrate we have some |
| Milestone 1.7.0 released! | 2026-02-10 | It’s here, a new milestone for Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing.For many of you, this won’t come as a surprise. All of the features in this update have been available on the Experimental Branch for the past few months. Thanks to your invaluable feedback, and the overwhelmingly positive response, we’ve been able to fine-tune what this milestone truly represents.This update brings:Physics 6.0 – the most accurate FPV physics on the market Not replicated, actually simulatedComplex wind simulation, including realistic and dynamic wind effectsReal-world hardware constraints that meaningfully impact flight behaviorA wide range of bug fixes and improvements |
| We won! | 2025-12-11 | Last night, something incredible happened: we, the Liftoff team and every single one of you in this community, were honoured with the Best Tech Provider award at the Belgian Game Awards.To say we’re grateful doesn’t even come close. In a rapidly growing industry filled with amazing studios and brilliant creators, being recognized like this is deeply humbling. And we know, without question, that this moment exists because of you.Your support over the years, your reviews, videos, posts, feedback, and enthusiasm, has carried us further than we ever thought possible. You’ve opened doors for Liftoff that we could never have opened alone.Because of |
| Test Physics 6.0 now! | 2025-12-09 | Over the last few weeks, we’ve received incredible feedback on our new Physics 6.0 development from a group of dedicated testers on the Liftoff Discord, each generously giving us their time and committing to honest, critical feedback. Join the Experimental Branch!Now its your turn! The first iteration of Physics 6.0 is now available for everyone to test on our (optional) Experimental Branch. The Experimental Branch lets us test major physics updates and other features while they’re still in development. Because these changes can greatly impact Liftoff, we invite players to try them early and share feedback. More info about the Experimental Br |
| Announcing Liftoff Physics 6.0 | 2025-11-07 | Liftoff’s technology framework has reshaped how FPV flight is simulated. Instead of scripting how a drone should fly, like most simulators do, Liftoff actually replicates it. Every element of a real drone is simulated: the virtual LiPo powering the motors, the propellers generating lift, and the frame defined by real-world dimensions, drag, and weight. Learn more about Liftoff's simulated systems In that sense, Liftoff isn’t just a drone simulator, it’s a LiPo simulator, a motor simulator, a frame simulator, a flight controller simulator, and more. All these systems work together to create the drone you fly virtually. What pilots feel in Lift |
| Update 1.6.17 released | 2025-10-31 | Over the years, we’ve teamed up with some of the coolest brands in the drone world to bring iconic FPV machines to Liftoff. And while that list keeps growing, every now and then, something awesome pops up right under our noses!Recently, longtime community legend Lex from Xistence Innovation has been sharing their latest drone frame design on our Discord, and wow, the creativity and passion blew us away. So, we decided it deserves a spot in the ever-expanding Liftoff fleet.Say hello to the Cinegon! It’s so awesome, it deserves a changelist all for itself! Changelist Added the Cinegon frame |
| Halloween event | 2025-10-27 | Hear ye, daring pilots! As the moon rises and shadows stir, an epic Halloween challenge awaits! Hunt down every pumpkin and claim their hidden treasures to unlock the “Trick or Treat” achievement! Haunt me or flaunt me,I’ll still pull through,just charge me a LiPo or two. Take up the quest in true style with the legendary Halloween Talon skin, and let your eerie glow light up the skies. Fly bold and fly fearless! 🎃 |
| Update 1.6.16 released! | 2025-10-06 | This update improves stability, security, and multiplayer reliability.Changelist Updated Unity game engine to mitigate a code execution vulnerability,Updated the conditions for a player to start in a multiplayer game to be less strict e.g., not having to wait until all players have selected their drone, or that their avatar is loaded in,Fixed issue when attempting to share a custom OSD Layout,Fixed issue where the lighting in the main menu didn't display correctly on lower graphics settings,Fixed several multiplayer issues where it could freeze the loading of the game,Fixed issue in the multiplayer leaderboards being viewed in-game, where it |
| Update 1.6.15 released! | 2025-09-22 | Some time ago, we shared our vision of Liftoff evolving from a simulator we build for you into one you can completely shape yourself. Today, we’re taking another step toward that future with the launch of the OSD Editor. ChangelistAdded OSD editor tool,Added a 'friend' icon on the leaderboards to highlight the scores of pilots you're friends with on Steam,Added a 'Delete Record' button for pilots to delete their record on a leaderboard,Updated the leaderboards where clicking on your personal entry will make it scroll to that entry on the leaderboard,Fixed issue in multiplayer where returning to the game lobby from a race score screen will put |
| Happy Lughnasadh | 2025-08-01 | Witness the return of Lughnasadh, the ancient Celtic festival of harvest, reborn with reverence and ritual. As August begins, we pay tribute to the god Lugus through tradition, challenge, and the rhythm of the reaping. Blades spinning A solemn cutting of the first of the corn An offering is made Venture forth during the LuGus festival event and undertake the daring quest to locate and activate all LuGus cubes within a single environment. By conquering this challenge, you'll unlock the coveted "LuGus Fest" achievement. Let's celebrate! |
| Update 1.6.14 released! | 2025-06-16 | Nothing special, a few quick fixes and a small teaser ;) ChangelistFixed issue where monthly leaderboards weren't updated if an all-time best score was already set which is better than the new monthly score.Fixed issue in the multiplayer game lobby, where it wasn't possible to copy another player's drone when viewing their details.Fixed audio issue in multiplayer, where sound would be too quiet when multiplayer game settings were changed, and the pause menu was still active.Fixed issue where the leaderboards weren't showing the scores properly on resolutions higher than 1080p.Added bots for the three official races in Rustline. Marina Bay tea |
| Update 1.6.13 released | 2025-06-03 | Bando City is growing, another batch of suspiciously cheap apartment blocks just popped up in the middle of nowhere. Ideal for anyone who enjoys echoey stairwells and uninterrupted views of arid landscapes. Rumor has it the foreman signed off on the expansion while waiting for cranes to clear space on other Liftoff construction site. ;) Changelist Updated: Bando City environment: improved terrain shaders and expanded construction site. Updated: Rustline environment boundaries have been moved up a little to allow access to some interesting locations. Updated: Further Rustline memory optimizations. Updated: Show shortened leaderboard names when |
| Liftoff Lantern fest! | 2025-05-26 | Lanterns rise, lanterns glow, Drifting gently in the evening’s flow. Around the world, lantern festivals light up the night for many reasons, to celebrate, to remember, to hope. Some lanterns soar, others float, and in true Liftoff style… ours do both! For a limited time, take to the skies and experience this radiant in-game spectacle during our 2-week seasonal celebration. There are no objectives here. No badges, no boosts, no XP. Just a stunning, immersive world to drift through at your own pace. Sometimes, beauty is the only reward you need. Enjoy! |
| Update 1.6.12 | 2025-05-08 | It’s great to see how much enthusiasm our last update sparked, especially among those chasing leaderboard times and thriving on the rush of online races. We truly appreciate all the energy and feedback you've shared. Update 1.6.12 builds on that momentum, refining and enhancing the features we introduced recently. Changelist Updated watching a leaderboard replay, returning to the leaderboards menu will now re-apply the selected filters to show the same leaderboard again. Updated personal best times chat messages to now be color-coded to the player's LED color. Updated personal best times to now always favor the all-time leaderboards instead o |
| Update 1.6.11 released | 2025-04-29 | We’ve just rolled out a major overhaul of the multiplayer leaderboards, now featuring flight recordings for each entry, among other things! The new rankings bring fresh competition, and a soft reset has archived all previous scores. Don’t worry, you can still access them in-game. Changelist: Updated the Rustline environment to be more lean on memory usage. Leaderboards overhaul: New leaderboard selection and overview menu. Monthly leaderboard date selection now only shows the available months for which data is available. Leaderboard entries can be clicked on to view details (timestamp, game modifiers, drone setup). Leaderboard entries can be |
| Heads Up, Pilots: Leaderboard Reset Happens Next Week! | 2025-04-26 | The next Liftoff update will bring a major improvements to the race and laptime multiplayer leaderboards. Last chance to contribute to the legacy leaderboards If you want to immortalize your spot in the legacy Liftoff leaderboard archives, now’s your chance. With the next update, multiplayer leaderboards will reset for a fresh start with a new, improved, and more transparent system. We're excited! What's next? Since 2018, pilots have posted close to 1.5 million high scores across monthly leaderboards for official tracks and all-time leaderboards for community tracks. Over time, a group of elite pilots emerged, constantly challenging each othe |
| Update 1.6.10 released! | 2025-04-17 | Welcome to Rustline, the newest Liftoff environment where steel breathes, smoke stacks groan, and the wind tastes like rust and oil. Navigate a sprawling industrial zone packed with towering warehouses, roaring trains, chemical plants, and canals lined with slow-moving barges. This gritty playground is wired with danger and built for flight. Skim rooftops, dive smokestacks, and thread your way through the machinery of a world long forgotten. Throttle up, pilot. Rustline is live! https://youtu.be/zNX4Wa6bGGg Changelist Added Rustline environment Added 3 brand new official racetracks for Rustline Cebit tower in Hannover fixed single sided top D |
| Easter egg hunt! | 2025-04-15 | On feathered wings or rotor's hum, Easter magic, here they come! Only 5 days left to crack the code and collect all Easter eggs in one environment! Do it, and you'll unlock the “Easter Egg Hunting” achievement. Ready, set, scramble! |