Euro Truck Simulator 2: 1.61 Update Release

We are excited that the 1.61 update for Euro Truck Simulator 2 is now officially released and available on Steam! We hope you will enjoy all the new features, which you can read about in more detail below.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in the open beta phase and reported possible issues or any kind of feedback on our forum, as it helped us fine-tune everything for a smooth transition to the full update!

We'd also like to thank everyone who participated in the 1.61 Experimental Beta, especially those who shared their thoughts on the Multi-Function Display (MFD) and the In-Game Menu. These additions will be introduced in a future update, giving us more time to refine and polish these features and ensure they deliver the best possible experience when they are ready.

Now without further ado, let's take a look at what this update includes!

Proximity Exploration

In the 1.61 update, we are introducing a new feature designed to assist players with exploring the world map and discovering more along their journey. Introducing Proximity Exploration, a new quality-of-life feature that makes map discovery a little more intuitive, while still keeping the enjoyment of exploring the world for yourself.

When enabled, Proximity Exploration automatically reveals a small area around your vehicle as you travel. This means you will no longer need to drive over every tiny section of road to mark it as explored, which should be especially useful for those of you chasing that elusive 100% map discovery! It can also help reveal nearby accessible roads and areas around locations such as rest stops, toll gates, border crossings, gas stations, and other places where multiple road segments may sit closely together.

And don't worry, secret roads will still have secrets to uncover! Proximity Exploration can reveal the first segment of a secret road when you get close enough, giving you a small hint that there might be somewhere new to explore. From there, however, the rest is up to you, as the remaining route will only be discovered by actually driving along it.

Whether you use Proximity Exploration to help hunt down those final percentages or simply make exploring the map a little smoother, the choice is yours!

Volvo Special Edition

We are very excited to join Volvo Trucks in the celebrations of their 100th anniversary by welcoming the Volvo FH Series 6 100 Year Edition to Euro Truck Simulator 2. 

The Volvo FH Series 6 100 Year Edition will bring a new look for both the interior and exterior, reflecting Volvo's century of innovation with driver-centric features. These additions will be reflected in the base game of ETS2 with new accessories and paint jobs available for the Aero XL cabin of the Volvo FH Series 6.

On the exterior, this update introduces two new paint jobs: 100 Year Edition – Night and 100 Year Edition – Day. The two designs feature distinctive dark or light exterior colour striping, complemented by two additional Centennial logos on either side of the truck. You will also be able to choose from two different light boxes: one with the 100 Year logo and another one with the FH16 logo.

We are also adding a brand new interior option featuring black leather door panels with unique stitching, carpets, a rear wall decoration featuring the 100 Year Edition logo, and a decorative dashboard ambient LED lighting available in red or blue colour options.

To complete the interior, you will also have the option to customize it with a range of exclusive accessories. These include a black leather steering wheel and new two-tone seats combining a black leather base with a grey textile upper section and the 100 Year logo.

You can read more about this special edition at our dedicated blogpost!

Improved Material System

The Improved Material System significantly improves the lighting and visual quality of vehicle interiors in selected trucks. Its main focus is to enhance how interior materials react to light, which results in a more readable, detailed, and visually pleasing cabin environment.

One of the most significant changes was a redesign of the materials used in vehicle interiors. As a result, it makes differences between materials such as leather, fabric, plastic, and metal far more apparent, even in low-light conditions. The new solution uses multiple variants of dynamic cubemaps, allowing all materials to reflect their surroundings more naturally and respond to ambient light in a more realistic way.

The entire system was designed from the start with the interiors of trucks in both games in mind, so the base games and their existing fleets will gradually benefit from these improvements as well. In this update, we're excited to bring the Improved Material System update to the Volvo FH Series 6, Volvo FH Series 5 and Volvo FH Series 4 alongside the already updated DAF NGD and MAN TG3 TGX models.

With future updates, we will gradually add this technology for other trucks across both games. You can read more about this feature here.

Livestock Trailer Rework

We’re excited to introduce a complete rework of the Livestock Trailer, which our vehicle team has done so from the ground up.

Inspired by modern European livestock trailers, our vehicle team rebuilt the trailer entirely from scratch, replacing the previous older model with a brand-new one. One of the biggest changes drivers will notice is the removal of the older belly axle variant, which has been replaced with a lowered chassis configuration featuring dual wheels.

For those who own their own Livestock trailers, the updated trailer will offer multiple customization options, including two chassis variants, a Straight 3 Axle and a Lowered 3 Axle configuration. Drivers will also be able to choose between an Aluminium body or a fully paintable body.

A wide range of accessories have also been included to customize your trailer. We’re also introducing newly configurable paint jobs for owned trailers, allowing you to customize up to four different colour sections across specific parts of the trailer for even greater customization. Freight Market and AI traffic variants have also been reworked based on the new owned trailer model, with company paint jobs completely reworked to better reflect more realistic transport operations.

You can read more about this rework at our dedicated blog.

Schwarzmüller Trailer Pack Update

We’re excited to begin updating the Schwarzmüller Trailer Pack DLC to better reflect their new modern trailer designs, starting with a complete rework of one of its low loader trailers and accessories. Let’s take a closer look!

Leading this update is the redesigned low loader trailer, which has been rebuilt to closely match Schwarzmüller’s latest real-world model.

Alongside the trailer itself, its available accessories have also been updated with refreshed designs to better represent the equipment and styling Schwarzmüller offers today. While the available cargo options remain the same, this update marks the beginning of a larger goal for us, to rework the entire Schwarzmüller Trailer Pack.

We look forward to seeing you on the road with this newly updated trailer! You can read more about this update at our dedicated blog.

Map Changes for Coaches

With the upcoming Coaches DLC, our map and asset teams have also been making a number of changes across Euro Truck Simulator 2 to prepare the world for passenger transport. The biggest of these can be found in Nuremberg, where we have added a brand-new bus station alongside several remade and newly created landmarks in the surrounding area. Our teams have put a lot of work into bringing this part of the city to life and making sure it is ready to welcome coaches.

We have also updated the bus stations in Karlstad, Aarhus, and Thessaloniki so they are now functional with our upcoming Coaches DLC. We've also made other smaller changes, including updates to navigation, access, and layouts. 

The coach station at Karlstad has received a brand-new station building, while Thessaloniki now features new signage and other updates. In Heraklion, we have also opened up a previously inaccessible street to make room for the new bus station.

We’ve also made a number of changes to border crossings to ensure they work correctly with coaches. This included introducing vehicle-specific navigation, as well as opening up parts of border areas that were previously inaccessible to players. Border crossings across the map have also received smaller layout adjustments to help coaches follow the correct routes while keeping navigation working as expected.

Alongside these changes, we have made plenty of smaller tweaks to bus stops and their surroundings across the map. While many of these may go unnoticed, they all help make sure the existing world is ready for the arrival of Coaches.

Changelog

Map

• Proximity Exploration 
• Map changes for the upcoming Coaches DLC 

Vehicles

• Addition of the Volvo FH Series 6 100 Year Edition
• Livestock Trailer Rework 
• Schwarzmüller Trailer Pack Update 

Visual

• Improved Material System added for the Volvo FH Series 6, Volvo FH Series 5 and Volvo FH Series 4

SCS On The Road: Iceland Research Trip

A few weeks ago, we shared a blog from our research trip to Iceland, where the map designers who took part in the journey shared their impressions. Today, we're excited to bring you a big episode of SCS On The Road, where you can experience the research trip in more detail, complete with stunning shots of Iceland's breathtaking landscapes and even some comparisons with the in-game map!

Part of our marketing team set out on this journey alongside our map designers to document the unforgettable trip. Iceland is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and during their time there, the map team had the chance to visit some truly stunning locations that they are now recreating for this upcoming map expansion.

To bring these places to life in our game and do them justice, the team needed to gather plenty of visual references, helping them recreate the landscapes and landmarks as accurately and faithfully to reality as possible. 

In this video, our map designers also shared some interesting insights into the map creation process, along with information about some of the places we are bringing directly into the map - keep an eye out for an upcoming hidden road, crossing a narrow bridge on its way to Þingvellir National Park!

We would also like to send a huge thank you to Volvo Trucks and Skúli, a real truck driver from Iceland, who made it possible for the map designers to take a ride in the 780-horsepower Volvo FH16 XXL and experience Iceland from a completely different perspective - from the cabin of a truck. So, without further ado, let's watch this episode together!

Stay tuned for more, because on this trip we also collaborated with Volvo to shoot one of their videos. While we cannot reveal what it was about right now, you can look forward to a behind-the-scenes SCS On The Road episode from that as well!

Don't forget to add the Iceland DLC to your Steam wishlist if you want to explore the beautiful places you saw in this video!

Also, remember to follow us on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok to receive updates on upcoming Euro Truck Simulator 2 projects and future SCS On The Road episodes. Or subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed. Keep on trucking!

American Truck Simulator: 1.61 Update Release

We're excited to announce that the 1.61 update for American Truck Simulator has officially been released and is now available on Steam!

Before we head to the news, we would like to thank everyone who took part in the Open Beta and reported any issues or provided general feedback on our forum. This makes it much easier for our team to fine-tune everything and helps ensure a smooth transition to the full update release.

We'd also like to thank everyone who participated in the 1.61 Experimental Beta, especially those who shared their thoughts on the Multi-Function Display (MFD) and the In-Game Menu. These additions will be introduced in a future update, giving us more time to refine and polish these features and ensure they deliver the best possible experience when they are ready.

Now, let’s dive into what you can expect in the 1.61 Update:

Proximity Exploration

In the 1.61 update, we are introducing a new feature designed to assist players with exploring the world map and discovering more along their journey. Introducing Proximity Exploration, a new quality-of-life feature that makes map discovery a little more intuitive, while still keeping the enjoyment of exploring the world for yourself.

When enabled, Proximity Exploration automatically reveals a small area around your vehicle as you travel. This means you will no longer need to drive over every tiny section of road to mark it as explored, which should be especially useful for those of you chasing that elusive 100% map discovery! It can also help reveal nearby accessible roads and areas around locations such as rest stops, toll gates, border crossings, gas stations, and other places where multiple road segments may sit closely together.

And don't worry, secret roads will still have secrets to uncover! Proximity Exploration will only reveal the first segment of a secret road when you get close enough, giving you a small hint that there might be somewhere new to explore. From there, however, the rest is up to you, as the remaining route will only be discovered by actually driving along it.

Whether you use Proximity Exploration to help hunt down those final percentages or simply make exploring the map a little smoother, the choice is yours!

Improved Material System

The Improved Material System significantly improves the lighting and visual quality of vehicle interiors in selected trucks. Its main focus is to enhance how interior materials react to light, which results in a more readable, detailed, and visually pleasing cabin environment.

One of the most significant changes was a redesign of the materials used in vehicle interiors. As a result, it makes differences between materials such as leather, fabric, plastic, and metal far more apparent, even in low-light conditions. The new solution uses multiple variants of dynamic cubemaps, allowing all materials to reflect their surroundings more naturally and respond to ambient light in a more realistic way.

The entire system was designed from the start with the interiors of trucks in both games in mind, so the base games and their existing fleets will gradually benefit from these improvements as well. In this update, we're excited to bring the Improved Material System to the International LT and International LoneStar.

With future updates, we will gradually add this technology for other trucks across both games. You can read more about this feature here.

Map Changes for Road Trip

With the upcoming Road Trip project, our map and asset teams have also been preparing the world of American Truck Simulator for a new way to explore the roads. While many of these changes are happening behind the scenes, they help lay the groundwork for future features and ensure the map is ready for the journey ahead.

We have implemented inactive Tourist Boards across several states, including California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and the upcoming South Dakota DLC. These Tourist Boards will remain unavailable until the Road Trip project is released, but they are already in place and ready for the future. Alongside these additions, we have also applied various small visual improvements and polish to selected areas across the map.

As part of these preparations, we have also added a number of new gas stations across the map. These locations will not only serve truck drivers but will also become available for cars when the Road Trip project releases, giving players more places to stop and refuel during their travels.

These changes are just a small part of the preparation work being done behind the scenes, helping us make sure the American Truck Simulator world is ready for new adventures on the road.

New Cargoes

We are also introducing new cargo options and improving the visuals of some existing ones. Players can now transport new types of freight, including Seed Containers, Trailers, and Truss, adding more variety to their hauling jobs across America.

Alongside these additions, we also updated the existing Rails cargo with a brand-new model and improved textures. These changes help bring more detail and visual quality to the cargo you see on the road, making each delivery feel even more realistic.

Changelog:

Map

• Proximity Exploration
• Map Changes for Road Trip

Vehicles

• New Cargoes

Visual

• Improved Material System: International LT & International LoneStar

We hope you are also excited to try out all the new features! Make sure to keep up to date with future updates by following us on X/Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, and by subscribing to our newsletter! Until next time, happy haulin'!

Road Trip: Quick Jobs & Freight Market

Who says deliveries are only for trucks? In today's blog, we're taking a closer look at how Quick Jobs and the Freight Market will work in our upcoming Road Trip module for American Truck Simulator. Let's check it out! 

Before we continue, we’ve also put together a video version of this blog for you to enjoy. You can check it out below!



Players familiar with American Truck Simulator will already know Quick Jobs and the Freight Market from their trucking careers. Road Trip builds on these systems with its own approach to courier work, customer reviews, and progression.

Just like with trucks, you won't need to have your own vehicle to take on a Quick Job. A suitable vehicle will be provided for you by the company offering the job, allowing you to jump straight into work as a courier driver. Fuel, repairs and any other expenses you encounter will be covered by the company, just as they are with traditional Quick Jobs in American Truck Simulator.

So what kind of jobs can you expect? Drivers can be tasked with delivering small packages and documents, as well as transferring vehicles between car dealerships. The jobs available to you can also vary depending on the type of vehicle involved, so a pickup truck may receive different contracts compared to a sports car or a classic vehicle.

However, completing the journey is only one part of the job. After each delivery, the customer will review your performance across three areas; Time Management, Vehicle Appearance, and Cargo Handling.

These reviews are specific to the delivery you have completed. Damaging valuable documents, for example, may lead to very different feedback compared to successfully delivering delicate plant seedlings without any issues. Our goal is to make each job feel a little more personal, with a customer waiting at the other end to judge how well you handled their delivery.

Some customers may also place a higher priority on one of these three areas. You'll be able to see this before accepting the job, and meeting their expectations will be more demanding. However, taking on that extra risk can also result in a better financial reward.

Time Management also works a little differently from simply beating a deadline. Customers expect you at a particular time, which means arriving too early can be just as unwelcome as arriving late. Each completed delivery is also given a star rating, which contributes towards your overall Courier Rating.

Your Courier Rating determines the types of jobs available to you, the maximum distance of the routes you can take on, and how much you can earn. Maintaining a higher rating will unlock more challenging work, such as fragile or valuable cargo and jobs with tighter delivery windows, while also providing a bonus to the offered payout.

Drivers who consistently achieve five-star deliveries can also build a Perfect Delivery Streak, which will reward drivers with additional money bonus.

Already saved up enough money to purchase your own vehicle? Then you'll have access to even more job opportunities! Players of American Truck Simulator will already be familiar with the Freight Market, and Road Trip introduces its own equivalent, known as the Dispatch Market.

The Dispatch Market works in a similar way to Quick Jobs, but instead of using a borrowed vehicle, you'll complete the job using a vehicle from your own garage. As you're supplying your own vehicle, these jobs will also offer a slightly higher payout, as you'll be responsible for your own expenses, including repairs and fuel.

The same Courier Rating, customer reviews, and performance criteria apply here too. Naturally, some jobs will differ from those found in Quick Jobs, such as car jockey work, after all, asking you to give away your own car would be a little unfair.

Any money you earn from these jobs goes directly into your existing ATS profile, which is shared between your trucking career and Road Trip. There is no separate XP system for this mode, instead, progression is earned by your Courier Rating, customer reviews, and your ability to maintain a Perfect Delivery Streak.

For the initial release of Road Trip, jobs will focus on getting yourself and the delivery safely from point A to point B, with more possibilities we hope to explore in the future. 

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about how jobs will work in Road Trip. We’re looking forward to seeing how you build up your Courier Rating, tackle different types of deliveries, and make the most of these new opportunities on the roads of American Truck Simulator.

If you’re excited to get behind the wheel when Road Trip arrives, be sure to add the Ford Car Pack and RAM & Dodge Car Pack to your Steam Wishlist! Until next time, keep an eye on our official channels for more news and previews from Road Trip. We’ll see you on the road!

World of Trucks: Resuming Events

Our dearest community,

Earlier this year, we shared that we would be taking a temporary pause from running our World of Trucks events. We also know how much these events mean to our #BestCommunityEver and that many of you have missed taking part. Today, we are pleased to confirm that we have decided to resume our World of Trucks events in the familiar format you already know, while the wider rework continues.

This means you can once again look forward to coming together for events throughout the months ahead. First up will be Cruising South Dakota, followed by Cruising Iceland and our seasonal Halloween and Christmas events later this year. We will share full details ahead of each event.

Our teams will continue working on the underlying systems and infrastructure that support these events, with the goal of bringing much more of the event experience directly into Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. This includes the improvements we previously described, such as the ability to view and redeem rewards, earn and view achievements, and follow event progress and community milestones directly in-game. It also involves broader behind-the-scenes changes to support the World of Trucks service in the future.

Thank you, as always, for your patience, support, and passion. We are excited to welcome you back to World of Trucks events and hope you will join us for the journeys ahead.

We'll see you on the road.

Community Stories: Trucker Cassie

In today's blog, we bring you another one of our Community Stories. This time with Trucker Cassie, one of the content creators playing our games, who will tell you all about her job as a real-life truck driver, as well as her passion for Euro Truck Simulator 2!

You might know Trucker Cassie from her YouTube or Twitch channels, where she regularly posts videos from her life as a truck driver in Scandinavia, and also gameplay live streams, mostly from ETS2. And today, she will tell you all about her love for trucks!

"It's quite random that I started working as a truck driver. I never had any drivers in my family. It was a friend who showed me the world of trucks. He had just gotten his heavy license, and one morning he gave me a ride to school in the oldest Scania I had ever seen. But from that moment, a spark was lit. Maybe I could drive a truck too? It felt so cool and free! So I applied to a trucking school, and the rest is history," Cassie told us.

Cassie discovered her passion for truck driving, and now, it's been 13 years since she started this way of life, as she now works part-time as a truck driver and shares her stories on social media. "At the start of my career, I never wanted to stop working. I wanted to beat my earlier record on how many deliveries I could make in a day. I had really found my place in life! But a few years with this lifestyle caused me to burn out, and it forced me to rethink my situation. Today, I work part-time, and I've learnt how important it is to wind down and relax when I can," she says.

If you wonder what kind of work Cassie usually does and what her days on the long and beautiful Scandinavian roads look like, she also shares this with us: "I have tried various delivery types, such as gravel, wood chips, and powder tanker. Now I'm delivering various goods from Sweden to Norway. And when I'm done with that delivery, I normally load fish in Norway. The fishing industries can be located in tricky places! Through small towns and up and down steep and curvy hills. It can really be a challenge during wintertime. After the fish is loaded, I drive to Denmark, where another driver picks up my trailer and drives it somewhere in Europe! Then I pick up a load from Denmark and drive home to Sweden again."

What Cassie loves the most about her job are the amazing views she sees along the way as well as the solitude this life can bring. "I get to listen to music and podcasts, and I rarely talk to customers. I also get to bring my Chihuahua, Happy," she told us.

This interesting merge of the two worlds is something we really love, as we have heard similar stories where either members of our community started driving trucks for a living because of our games, or long-term truck drivers that found their passion in Euro Truck Simulator 2 or American Truck Simulator.

"I have been a truck driver for a while before I discovered Euro Truck Simulator 2. A colleague of mine showed me the game, and I thought it was a silly idea to drive a truck for work, then get home, and play a truck simulator after work. And now look at me," Cassie shared.

So what is actually so satisfying about playing a truck simulator when you are a real-life truck driver? 

"I am having the time of my life when I play ETS2 on my livestreams! Because in a real truck, you have a lot of responsibility; to deliver the cargo, the truck, and yourself to the delivery place safely. Always being alert. But when I'm playing the game, I can be social with the chat, drive together with the viewers, answer questions, and just have a good time. And the consequences won't be too big when my digital truck makes a kickflip off a mountain because I was focusing on what the chat is saying. I also like to compare the real-life roads to the simulator! And point out the landmarks and differences from the real places," Cassie explained.

What actually inspired Cassie to start creating content on social media was kind of a coincidence, but from there, it helped her to grow a big community of over 160 thousand followers on YouTube alone.

"I started my main YouTube channel after I got the offer of being in a reality TV show years ago. I had to film my workday as a truck driver myself, and then send the footage to the TV production. The TV show was canceled before it had even started, though, and there I was with a vlog. I realized I could put it together myself and post it on YouTube! So that's what I did. A few videos in, and I suddenly gained thousands of subscribers in a few weeks' time. It was crazy! I also have a smaller YouTube channel, where I post gaming content and previous livestreams. I decided to have two separate channels since the content is quite different. And of course, my Twitch channel, where I do livestreams when I have the energy for it," Cassie told us.

This gave us a great opportunity to ask Cassie, a real truck driver, how Euro Truck Simulator 2 compares with the real world, and she was happy to answer that:

"I think Euro Truck Simulator 2 is very accurate to real life trucking! Especially when you have a steering wheel and pedals. I know a few people who have practiced reversing trailers in the game, then tried it out in real life. And they nailed it! All because they have practiced in the game."

We were also curious how Cassie's driving differs from the real world to how she drives in Euro Truck Simulator 2. "I definitely test the limits and do more daring stuff in the game! Somehow, people get surprised when they see my real-life work videos, and notice I actually know how to drive a truck. But I don't blame them, after seeing my stunts in ETS2. It would be nice to have a pink MAN truck in real life as well! But until now, I'll get to be pretty in pink in the simulator," she answered.

If you think this life would be for you and you are also thinking about taking on a truck driver career, Cassie has a message for you! "I really recommend people try out Euro Truck Simulator 2 if they are curious about becoming truck drivers in real life. It is a pretty big decision, with lots of money needed to get a heavy license with all the needed certificates. And I think ETS2 gives a great hint of what trucking can feel like! Also, it's a really fun activity to bring home your non-trucking friends and let them reverse a trailer in the game! Better than any board game I have played :)," she concluded.

We hope you have enjoyed Cassie's story! If you did, remember to give our X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok a follow so you won't miss similar blogs and also updates from our games straight to your feed. Or subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed. Keep on trucking!