PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

PCMag UK

Why Is There a Giant, Alien-Looking Monolith in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

Players flying over a suburb in Melbourne have spotted the freakish structure, which was apparently incorporated in the game due to an erroneous edit on OpenStreetMap, a source for Bing Maps.

Michael Kan
 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS
(Credit: @alexandermuscat on Twitter)

Microsoft Flight Simulator does a stunning job of faithfully recreating the world inside a virtual game. But not everything is true to life. 

Case in point: Players who’ve been flying over an Australian suburb in Melbourne have noticed a giant monolith that’s over 200 stories high. 

The obelisk-like building is so tall and narrow, it looks like something out of the sci-fi video game Half-Life 2, according to Alexander Muscat, an Australian gamer who tweeted images of the structure this week.

Since then, Flight Simulator players have been traveling to Melbourne to check out the massive structure. But why is it even there?

Recommended by Our Editors

Acer Launching Streaming-Only Handheld Gaming PC
Acer Launching Streaming-Only Handheld Gaming PC
Valve's Steam Deck Is Back in Stock, But It Comes With a Shocking Price Hike
Valve's Steam Deck Is Back in Stock, But It Comes With a Shocking Price Hike
No Steam Machine Scalpers? Reservation System May Be Ready At Launch
No Steam Machine Scalpers? Reservation System May Be Ready At Launch

Well, Microsoft created the environments inside the game by tapping Bing Maps, which is updated with new topography data from a variety of sources. 

One of the sources includes OpenStreetMap, which will take edits from anyone. Internet users began sleuthing and noticed an erroneous edit to OpenStreetMap was made a year ago: in an apparent typo, a user made a building located in the Melbourne suburb 212 stories high. 

Microsoft later incorporated the giant building into the game even though the erroneous edit was later fixed. Hence, the virtual Australia found in Flight Simulator is now home to the largest manmade structure on the planet. 

Microsoft launched the game only two days ago, so it’s no surprise that players are finding bugs here and there. Others include Buckingham Palace in England, which was apparently rendered as a modern office building rather than an actual Victorian-style palace. Meanwhile, some players have found you can fly your plane into orbit around the planet.

Further Reading

Gaming Reviews

Gaming Best Picks

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

Read the latest from Michael Kan

Read full bio