In the 1.60 update, we have introduced the Improved Material System for selected trucks for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. And today, we bring you a look behind the scenes at how this feature came to life!

The two main people working on this feature are our colleagues Daniel and Martin, who were and still are implementing the system for trucks in both games, and also for cars in the upcoming Road Trip project for American Truck Simulator.

Daniel - Vehicle Technical Leader

"I've been working at SCS Software for over thirteen years. I started as a 3D Generalist, then worked as a 3D Vehicle Artist and Vehicle Team Lead. Today, my role is the Vehicle Technical Leader.

My work bridges the gap between the graphical and technical aspects of development. I collaborate with programmers to implement vehicle features into the engine, while also helping artists establish efficient workflows. I also design new tools and technical improvements.

My task on the improved material system was to identify the problem, propose a solution, and collaborate with programmers on its implementation into the engine. Next, we needed to set up a practical workflow for the vehicle team so that the system could be used consistently across other vehicles. The programmers created the necessary support in the engine and shaders. The graphic designers then converted and fine-tuned the materials for specific trucks."

Martin - Senior 3D Graphic Designer

"I work as a Senior 3D Graphic Designer specializing in vehicles. I also worked as Head of Content for the Road Trip project. I participated in selecting the vehicles and their specific variants, handled research and pre-production, provided expert consultation, and subsequently worked on the actual creation of the vehicles. I also helped Dan fine-tune changes to the material system.

Cars have been a long-standing passion of mine, especially sports cars and classic cars - particularly American ones. Thanks to this, I was able to bring my own experience and knowledge of American automotive culture, history, and the technical development of individual models to the project.

My main task was the 1967 Ford Mustang and everything related to its visual and content preparation. I was involved in selecting the specific car and its variant, conducting research, gathering references, consulting during data collection, and the actual creation of the model and materials.

During the development of the new material system, I prepared and fine-tuned the individual surfaces on the Mustang. Together with Dan, we used this car to verify how the new technical solution behaved in practice and which values provided the most accurate results."

How did this project start?

"Development began while we were working on the Road Trip project. The interiors of passenger cars are smaller and darker than those of trucks, so the shortcomings of the original system were more noticeable in them.

Aside from direct light, the original system had no way to render light within the interiors. In the real world, a large portion of the visuals consists of so-called indirect, or reflected light (GI). However, the game did not work with this concept at all and was not designed for it. We knew we needed to change this somehow.

The second problem was that the interiors of the trucks contain many different materials, such as fabric, leather, plastic, painted surfaces, metal, and glass. The original system was unable to render them accurately, especially under indirect lighting; everything looked very flat.

"Road Trip provided us with a suitable, isolated environment for development and testing. From the start, however, we designed the system so that it could also be used for trucks," says Daniel.

What did you have to do before actually starting to implement the improved system?

"We needed to map out the actual vehicles and the materials used in their interior in detail through extensive research. I studied magazines, photographs, available documentation, and individual trim levels. While gathering data, we had the opportunity to see the specific car in person, speak with its owner, and document its construction and appearance in detail.

It wasn't enough to simply determine that a certain part of the interior was made of, for example, plastic, leather, or metal. We also had to examine the surface texture, the degree of gloss, the way the material reflects light, its wear and tear, the color shade, and the differences between individual parts.

This research laid the foundation upon which we could later assess whether the materials in the game corresponded to the actual vehicle," Martin told us.

"We also had to decide which direction to take. One of the key requirements was maintaining performance, so we looked for approaches that didn't require complex computational operations and sought techniques that would achieve good results with minimal changes to computational complexity. I believe the result of our efforts is a noticeable improvement in graphics with minimal impact on performance," Daniel shared with us.

How did the process of bringing the new system into the game look?

"We needed to implement changes to the engine regarding how the game loads and handles reflective textures. A reflective texture is essentially a cube where each face shows a reflection in a different direction relative to the player. Using it is significantly more efficient than calculating actual light reflections using ray tracing. We made several changes to the code to gain direct access to individual mipmaps. A mipmap is a scaled-down copy of the original image, typically used when a textured object is farther away from the player to eliminate unappealing texture aliasing. In our specific case, however, a lower resolution automatically results in a softer reflection, which can be used for materials that do not have a 100% glossy surface but rather a physically rougher surface, causing the reflection on the material to be more diffuse.

This way, we created several different levels of reflection smoothness, ranging from perfectly glossy surfaces like chrome, through smoother reflections such as those found on leather seat materials, to rough, nearly non-reflective materials like fabrics, where one side of the reflection cube is only 2x2px. In our case, it replaces the Iradience map, which means it primarily serves to project the surrounding light palette onto the given material (color cast). The game was already calculating the mipmaps themselves, which means this change costs us practically nothing in terms of performance - and that is the main reason we decided to use this approach.

Along with the material changes, we also needed to rebalance the contrast and lighting throughout the game to eliminate extremely dark areas and achieve a more realistic sense of lighting.

Unlike the original solution, where reflective textures were used only for highly reflective materials, particularly metals, the revised system applies a reflective texture to every single material in the vehicle's interior. However, they differ in how strongly the reflection is visible in the final image and in the softness of the reflection applied. This ensures that even less reflective materials - especially plastics - convey a sense of reflected light, color cast, and improved contrast, particularly in shaded areas of the interior. Players will now notice that the entire interior actually reacts to the truck's surroundings; for example, when driving past trees, the part of the interior near the windows takes on a subtle green tint. This makes the game feel much more realistic than before, even without the computationally expensive global illumination (GI) calculation.

Once the technology was ready, we needed to determine how to adjust the individual materials under the new conditions. Since each material now includes a reflective component, we had to completely rebalance all the settings for each material. To ensure that existing textures would function correctly with the new settings, we also had to rebalance their color and specular components to the standard values we had established during our extensive testing.

The final step for system-wide deployment was to create a material library so that we wouldn't have to configure each material type separately for every vehicle," Daniel explains.

What were the biggest challenges in implementing the system?

"The biggest challenge was the diversity of the vehicles. The individual trucks were created at different times and used different source data, textures, and rendering methods. There is no single conversion that works for all trucks. Each completed interior has its own structure and requires a customized approach," says Daniel.

"Also, the individual properties of materials influence one another. Changing the reflectance or roughness might improve the appearance of one surface, but at the same time cause the material to behave poorly in a different lighting situation. Or a material that looked right in direct daylight might be too shiny in a dark interior or react unnaturally while driving at night. It was therefore necessary to constantly strike a balance between realism, visibility, and consistent behavior. The goal was not to make all surfaces more prominent or shinier, but to accurately capture the differences between them.

We reworked many of these steps several times during development. However, the result was not just materials for one specific car, but also experience and guidelines that will significantly facilitate work on future vehicles.

The process wasn't straightforward. It wasn't enough to simply set a few parameters according to a pre-prepared table. We had to figure out many of the values ourselves, and together with Dan, we tested them repeatedly right in the game," Martin added.

How did you manage to do the changes without affecting performance?

"Our players use a wide range of hardware. We didn't want to create visual enhancements that would significantly reduce the game's performance or even make the game unplayable for some players. Therefore, the system is not based on a new, resource-intensive lighting simulation. It extends the existing rendering pipeline and utilizes already available data more efficiently.

Performance was continuously profiled during development. The goal was to achieve a visible improvement with minimal impact on the graphics card and memory. Furthermore, the system is configured to function with a certain trade-off even when set to medium or low - in such cases, while reflections are not rendered in real time and some benefits, such as realistic color cast from the vehicle's surroundings, are lost, the materials themselves still look realistic and can be distinguished from one another," says Daniel.

So far, we've implemented the improved material system on four trucks across ETS2 and ATS. Rather than making the community wait until every truck has been updated, we'll continue rolling out the improved material system for other trucks gradually, allowing you to enjoy the improvements on some vehicles already while we complete the rest. As Daniel explains here:

"Each truck requires individual adjustments, a visual inspection, and testing of all variants in daylight, at night, in the rain, and in cloudy weather. Therefore, it was not possible to update the entire fleet at once. This smaller initial group will allow us to verify the entire production process, maintain quality, and gather feedback from players."

We hope you have enjoyed this in-depth look at how we work on the improved material system. Make sure to also add the Ford Car Pack and the RAM & Dodge Car Pack to your Steam wishlist, so you can enjoy this feature on cars when we release them.

Don't forget to give our X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, TikTok, and YouTube a follow, as you'll receive updates about our games straight to your feed! Or subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed. Until next time, safe travels!

If you've been following our rework projects in American Truck Simulator, you may be wondering what's next after our recent focus on Route 66. Today, we're excited to share the answer! Our next major undertaking will be the Nevada Rework Project, where we'll give the Silver State a complete overhaul.

As part of this next phase, our map designers will focus on the entire state of Nevada, reworking all of its existing cities and road networks to bring them up to the quality standards of our latest content. Since Nevada was one of the original states released with American Truck Simulator, this rework will allow us to rebuild many locations from the ground up while preserving the character and atmosphere that make the state so unique.

In addition to refreshing familiar places, we're also taking the opportunity to expand Nevada with locations and road connections that were missing from the original version. One example is the city of Fallon, located east of Carson City. Alongside it, we'll also add the missing sections of US-95 that pass through Fallon from south to north, creating a more complete and authentic driving experience.

Throughout the state, you can also look forward to a variety of brand-new custom depots, offering more diverse delivery destinations and making freight transportation across Nevada feel even more immersive than before.

This is just the beginning of the Nevada Rework Project, and we're looking forward to sharing more previews from development as work progresses. Be sure to follow us on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, and YouTube, or sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss any future updates. Until next time, keep on truckin'!

Our wheels keep turning, and today we’re ready to share a teaser of another U.S. state currently in development for American Truck Simulator. Let’s see how good your guessing game is!

So, here are your clues! Take a close look at the screenshot and teaser video below. It may seem a little fishy at first, but sometimes the smallest hints can lead to the answer.


This next destination is known for its wide-open spaces, long-haul roads, and a landscape where the horizon seems to stretch on forever. It’s a place shaped by hardworking industries, strong prairie winds, and a pioneering spirit that still runs deep today.



Think you’ve caught on to where we’re heading next? Drop your guesses in the comments below, and when the time is right, we look forward to sharing more about what awaits on the road ahead in this part of the U.S. Until then, be sure to follow our blog and our social channels on X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok so you don’t miss a thing.

Today, we take you on a preview journey to beautiful Rapid City, one of the cities you will find when driving through our upcoming South Dakota DLC for American Truck Simulator!

Rapid City is located in a picturesque landscape surrounded by some of South Dakota's most popular natural attractions. Heading west opens the way to the Black Hills National Forest and the iconic Mount Rushmore - the reason Rapid City is also known as the Gateway to the Black Hills. Traveling east along Interstate 90 takes you toward the rugged landscapes of Badlands National Park.

Beyond its surroundings, Rapid City has a rich heritage, as it celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. It has grown from a small settlement into a thriving regional hub while preserving the character that makes it unique. Today, tourism is one of the cornerstones of the local economy, with visitors drawn not only to the beauty of the region but also to the historic streets, distinctive buildings, and local landmarks.

Our asset and map designers have recreated plenty of these buildings and structures to bring Rapid City to life. Among them are two hotels, one of which is located in the heart of downtown, known for its appearance and history dating back to the 1920s. Driving further, you will also find another historic building that once served as the fire station and is now transformed into a local winery.

Some of the landmarks can be seen from a distance yet are instantly recognizable, such as the large white "SMD" letters displayed on the hillside above the city. Created by students as a tribute to the South Dakota Mines school and community, it has become one of the symbols of Rapid City. Another smaller landmark you may notice is the gateway entrance to Memorial Park, located in the center of the city along Rapid Creek.

You will also find many more landmarks as you explore Rapid City, from larger ones such as the city hall and administration buildings to smaller ones like a roadside windmill, a statue in the downtown, and others. Each of these elements has been recreated to help capture the atmosphere and identity of the real place.

And if you are visiting not only for sightseeing but also to take on a job, you will find plenty of depots to choose from. These include a cement works, a gas and chemical distribution facility, a sawmill, a warehouse, a home store, waste management, and even a custom-made grain elevator depot, all ready to load up your trailer.

We hope you are excited to discover Rapid City and everything else the Mount Rushmore State has to offer. If you do, make sure to add the South Dakota DLC to your Steam wishlist! 

Also, remember to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube for all the latest news from not only this map expansion, but also other American Truck Simulator projects, or sign up for our newsletter to stay informed. Until next time, safe travels!

With the upcoming 1.61 update for Euro Truck Simulator 2, we’re excited to introduce a complete rework of the Livestock Trailer, which our vehicle team has reworked from the ground up. Let’s take a closer look at what changes have been made! 

The goal for our team was to create a model that closely matches what you’d see on the road in the real world, with a strong focus on detail. 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. Alongside this, the trailer has been refined with improved proportions, updated details, and an overall cleaner, more modern appearance.


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 including storage boxes, water tanks, side protections, full side covers, fenders, marker lights, rear bumpers, mudflaps, a spare tire, and a fire extinguisher.


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.


We look forward to seeing you out on the road with this reworked trailer in Euro Truck Simulator 2. Be sure to keep an eye our blog and social media channels for more upcoming development news on the 1.61 update and more. Until next time, keep on truckin’! 

When we released the Schwarzmüller Trailer Pack for Euro Truck Simulator 2 back in 2016, it quickly became a popular addition to many players’ fleets. With the upcoming 1.61 update, we’re excited to begin updating the Schwarzmüller Trailer Pack DLC to better reflect the new modern trailer designs, starting with a complete rework of one of its low loader trailers and accessories. Let’s take a closer look!

As Schwarzmüller’s real-world trailer lineup has continued to evolve over the years, we felt it was the right time to revisit this popular trailer pack and bring it more in line with the manufacturer’s current designs. 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 hope you're excited to hit the road with this newly redesigned low loader trailer and accessories, which will arrive as a free update for all Euro Truck Simulator 2 owners in the future. Be sure to keep upto date with the latest news by following us on our socials. You can find us on X, Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram & TikTok. Until next time, we’ll see you on the road!

As the development of the upcoming Coaches DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2 advances, today, we'd like to show you some of the new vehicle features we have developed for this expansion. Let's take a look!

Coaches feature a variety of systems and functions that trucks don't. So we needed to dive deeper and faithfully recreate new vehicle systems for the Coaches DLC, which we believe will enhance the driving experience and make every journey feel even more immersive when this expansion releases.

The first thing we have decided to implement is the destination display panel visible at the top of the windshield, showing the coach's final stop. It is a removable accessory, giving players the option to decide whether they want to use it or not, and is also visible from the interior. We've fine-tuned its appearance, including text length, colour, and other visual details to ensure it fits well across different destinations.

Another difference between coaches and trucks is that coaches have larger windshields, which means sunlight can be a greater challenge while driving. That is why we have developed adjustable sun visors. On coaches that support this feature, the visors are split into left and right sections, allowing each side to be controlled independently and positioned as needed. They are also visible from the exterior and include animated controls, as well as sound effects.

Since coaches are long vehicles, judging what's behind you can be quite a challenge. That's why modern coaches are typically equipped with rear-view cameras, which we've also included in this DLC. The camera feed is integrated directly into the dashboard, automatically switching from the navigation display when a reverse gear is engaged. Since we've aimed to recreate bus stations and stops as faithfully as possible, including real-life situations a coach driver might encounter, we believe the camera will prove especially useful in many situations.

We've also added interior lighting options to brighten up the journey for you and your passengers. The first is ambient lighting, which allows you to choose the color to suit your preference. The second is the main ceiling light, which can be switched on and off with a button, particularly useful at night when stopping to pick up or drop off passengers.

We hope you are looking forward to taking advantage of the new vehicle features we developed for Coaches. If so, then don't forget to add the Coaches DLC to your Steam wishlist! Also, make sure to keep track of future updates by following us on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube, or sign up for our newsletter. Until next time, safe travels!

The countdown to one of the biggest gaming events of the year has begun, and we're excited to share that SCS Software will be attending Gamescom 2026! From August 26th to August 30th, you'll be able to find us in the Entertainment Halls, where we'll have our biggest booth yet. We will be located in Hall 10.1, Booth B022-C023.

We're looking forward to meeting our #BestCommunityEver once again. Whether you've been trucking with us for years or are just discovering our games, we'd love for you to stop by, say hello, and spend some time with the team. Meeting our community in person is always one of the highlights of the year, and we can't wait to see familiar faces as well as meet new ones.

Visitors to our booth will have the opportunity to get behind the wheel and try exclusive demo builds showcasing several of our upcoming map expansions. We plan to bring special preview versions featuring the breathtaking landscapes of the upcoming Euro Truck Simulator 2: Iceland DLC, explore the stunning roads and scenery of British Columbia in the upcoming American Truck Simulator: British Columbia DLC, and get a first taste of the upcoming South Dakota DLC for American Truck Simulator.

We're also doing everything we can to bring playable demonstrations of our upcoming Road Trip and Coaches projects to Gamescom. While we're not ready to make any promises just yet, we're working hard behind the scenes and hope we'll be able to let visitors get an early hands-on experience with these exciting new additions as well.

To make the experience even more immersive, we're thrilled to be partnering with Thrustmaster once again. They will be equipping our booth with a brand-new product that visitors will have the exclusive chance to test! We can't wait for everyone to get their hands on it and experience what's in store. A huge thank you to Thrustmaster for helping us make our Gamescom booth even more exciting!

We'd also like to extend our sincere thanks to Volvo Trucks for helping us prepare something truly special for Gamescom. While we'll keep the details under wraps a little longer, let's just say that fans of Volvo trucks won't want to miss our booth. We'll be showcasing something truly exclusive straight from Volvo that every truck enthusiast will want to see up close.

And if that isn't enough, our 4D motion simulator will also be making its return! If you've always wanted to experience the feeling of driving a truck with added motion effects, be sure to give it a try during your visit.

We can't wait to see you in Cologne this August! We'll have more information to share as Gamescom gets closer, including our booth location and additional activities, so make sure to keep an eye on our social media channels and give us a follow on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube, or sign up for our newsletter, so you never miss any news. Safe travels, and we'll see you there!

Today, we're excited to take you on another journey through the upcoming Iceland DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2. This time, we're focusing on one of the country's fascinating pieces of infrastructure - its bridges.

Although Iceland is known for its dramatic volcanoes, glaciers, and waterfalls, every trucker's journey depends on something a little less obvious: the bridges that connect communities across the landscape. From narrow crossings over glacial rivers to long bridges spanning waterways, each one plays an important role in keeping the country's road network moving.

Our map team has carefully recreated a wide variety of bridges inspired by their real-world counterparts. Whether you're hauling cargo along the famous Ring Road or venturing onto more remote routes, you'll encounter structures that reflect Iceland's unique engineering and natural surroundings.

One of the defining characteristics of Icelandic bridges is their diversity. Modern concrete spans stand alongside older steel bridges that have served travellers for decades. In more remote areas, you'll also find plenty of single-lane bridges, where traffic from both directions must carefully share the crossing. These iconic structures have become a familiar sight for anyone who has explored Iceland by road, and we're happy to bring that authentic experience to the game. 

Creating these locations required close attention to both realism and gameplay. Our teams worked to ensure that each bridge feels like a natural part of the surrounding landscape while remaining enjoyable to drive across. Terrain, road alignment, barriers, signage, and nearby landmarks all contribute to making every crossing a memorable part of your journey. Of course, bridges are much more than simple road crossings; they also offer some breathtaking views!

We hope you enjoyed this preview of what's to come! If you did, make sure to add the Iceland DLC to your Steam wishlist and don't forget to follow our X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok to receive all the recent updates straight to your feed. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed. Until next time, safe travels!

Today, we're taking you behind the scenes of the development of Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator to explore another important part of the process that helps shape your experience on the road. This time, we're shining a spotlight on UI/UX QA and its role in creating intuitive, enjoyable, and polished interfaces for our players.

To guide you through this fascinating area, we'd like to introduce Petr and Jan from our UI/UX QA team. They'll take you along for a day at work, explain what their role involves, and share how they help ensure every menu, button, and interaction feels just right before it reaches your screen.

Petr - Console & UI/UX QA Lead

"Hi! My name is Petr, and I work as the Console & UI/UX QA Lead. Together with my colleagues, I helped build two teams that now play a key role in ensuring our games both function well and deliver a great user experience.

We are responsible for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator across all platforms, including traditional PC, Steam Deck, VR, PlayStation, and Xbox Series X/S. In addition to the games themselves, we're also heavily involved in testing projects such as Driving Academy, Coaches, and Road Trip.

My work mainly revolves around coordination, planning, and analysing testing results. I collaborate closely with other teams to identify and resolve bugs or UX issues as early as possible. My goal is to organise our processes so that the entire team can work efficiently and stay focused without unnecessary pressure before every new patch or DLC release.

I also actively test everything my team works on. Not only do I genuinely enjoy testing, but I also see it as a major advantage. Being directly involved in the entire process allows me to better identify areas where we can continue improving and moving forward as a team.

I'm always there to support my team whenever they're unsure about something or need advice, and I make a conscious effort to maintain a positive, friendly atmosphere where everyone enjoys working together."

Jan - Senior UI/UX Tester

"Hi, I'm Jan, and I'm a Senior UI/UX Tester with a primary focus on playtesting. I'm 31 years old, and  I've been at SCS Software for two years. I originally joined the company as a Junior Tester without a specific specialisation, but once I settled into the team and got to know our development process, I quickly discovered a passion for user experience.

With the support and guidance of Petr, who was already a senior at the time, I helped establish our playtesting process and have been refining it ever since."

What is UI/UX QA?

"Before a new feature gets added to our games, it has to go through a long journey. And the UI/UX (User Interface/User Experience) is there along the way. Whether it's a new feature or a redesign of an existing one, it all starts with analysis and dialogue between us (QA department) and the Game Design (GD) department. For redesigns, we need to start by assessing the current state, what works, and where changes are needed, and for new features and redesigns alike, we need to think about where we want to arrive. Answers to these questions will then inform all future decisions."

What does a typical UI/UX testing process look like, and how closely do you work with other teams?

"In general, we try to be involved in the process of a feature development as soon as possible and cooperate with the GD department as closely as we can, so we're also a part of the next stage of the feature's journey, where we provide feedback on the design. This means looking at the design document and trying to think ahead, so we ask questions like: "Is this going to be intuitive? Is it clear that this is a button? Aren't we forgetting anything? What about accessibility? Will the text be legible on a smaller screen?" and many more. After some back and forth with the GD department, we arrive at a design that can then be implemented by a programmer.

The first playable prototype is the point where we have to start sitting in two chairs at once. We still have to see the big picture - know the design, see how all the pieces fit, know why some decisions were made the way they were. But now, we can also see the game as a player seeing the feature for the first time. We have to become a player that is just starting out and has never played any other game before. A hardcore gamer who has played many games, but never a trucking simulator. Or a real-life trucker who plays our games on a handheld at their rest stops. Our games are played by a very wide audience, and the design has to work and be intuitive for all of them.

At this stage, we identify further issues, offer improvements, and look for possible solutions together with the GD team and programmers working on the feature. After we feel confident enough with the state we arrive at, it's time to validate in the next stage.

The next important part of the feature's journey is internal Playtesting. It's a great way of getting a fresh perspective from people from various parts of the company who haven't seen the design documents and ideally don't know anything about it. Before we start playtesting, we define the questions we want answers to: "Is this screen intuitive? Does it control all accessories well? Did the addition of X add any unnecessary friction?" Based on these questions, we prepare detailed scenarios for the respondents to go through, which will get them to engage with the (re)designed feature in ways that try to simulate a regular gameplay loop. We then invite the respondents to our Playtest Lab, where we guide them through the scenarios, observing their behaviour, reactions, taking down notes, and asking questions. We also utilise eye tracking, which gives us more insight about the players' focus, telling us which elements are observed first and which go by completely unnoticed.

After the playtest ends, respondents also fill out a questionnaire, which allows them to think about the feature some more, further comment on it, and possibly come up with ideas of their own.

All of this gives us a lot of data that needs to be processed. For this, we use practices from applied research, so we start with qualitative coding, followed by thematic analysis with frequency counting. In layman's terms, we go through all the raw statements and observed behaviours and assign them to various categories, along with how often they were mentioned/observed. This helps us to identify recurring patterns and assign them to broader themes/issues.

We then prepare a final Output, which summarises the respondents' behaviour, reactions, opinions, identifies underlying issues, and proposes possible solutions.

The next steps depend on the results of the playtest. If we identify some deep issues that require big changes in the design, we have to go back to the drawing board, repeating the previous points, leading to another playtest to confirm the issues have been satisfactorily addressed. A good recent example is the redesigned Skip Time / Rest feature, which also divided Fatigue into two separate mechanics (Fatigue and Mandatory Break). During playtesting, we found out that this new division and its representation were very confusing to players, and the feature had to be redesigned completely, to great success (at least we hope so).

If, on the other hand, we only identify surface-level issues that require some polish, the GD department tackles those, and we can move on to the final testing of the feature.

In the final testing, we mostly focus on FQA - the design is largely set, and we're now making sure it all works as intended. As soon as this is done, the feature can be merged into the main branch, where the Integration QA department takes over, making sure the feature itself survived the merge in its intended state and didn't break anything else along the way, but that's for another chapter."

What do you enjoy most about working on UI/UX?

Petr: "What do I enjoy the most? That's a tough question. In short, pretty much everything! Everyone on our team is passionate about games of all kinds and genres, so having the opportunity to contribute our own ideas and suggestions for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator is incredibly rewarding.

At SCS, we often do things our own way, which makes the work especially enjoyable. At the same time, we always keep our players at the heart of every decision. When developing new gameplay features, it's easy for designers to unintentionally fall into "tunnel vision." Our job is to challenge that perspective and bring in a fresh set of eyes. We think about our experienced truckers, but we never forget players who are just starting out. Looking at the game's interface from many different perspectives is both a key part of our work and one of its most creative aspects.

We put our all into making our games as accessible as possible while ensuring they remain just as fun to play."

Jan: "I like how it combines technical and human aspects. User experience is mostly an interaction between a human and a machine, and you have to make them understand each other.

The first project I came up with and delivered was the Graphics Settings screenshot representation to make it easier for players to see the changes they're making when setting up the visuals of their game, and that's the perfect example of what I mean - I'm interested in how things work under the hood, but also how the player perceives and understands them."

What message would you like to share with our community, and how valuable is player feedback in helping improve the user experience?

"Player feedback is incredibly important to us and a constant source of inspiration. We're genuinely happy to see more and more initiatives being built around your feedback here at SCS. I want to assure you that we truly do read your comments, ideas, and suggestions carefully, not just our UI/UX team, but the entire studio.

It's clear how much all of you who engage with us care about our games, and we feel exactly the same way. We love Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, and we want to keep making them better and better. We genuinely want to know what you enjoy, what you'd like to see added, and what you think could be improved. We've already received an incredible amount of feedback. I wish you could see the extensive documents where we carefully collect and organise all of your ideas and requests.

Unfortunately, we can't implement every suggestion. There can be many reasons that aren't immediately obvious, such as engine limitations, limited internal resources, technical constraints within our game systems, licensing agreements, and more. But please, keep talking to us! Your feedback never goes unnoticed. It's thanks to you that we're able to continue on this journey and keep making the experience even better together.

Thank you to everyone who's travelling this exciting road with us!"

In today's blog, we'd like to introduce you to some of the custom depots and industries you'll be able to visit in our upcoming South Dakota DLC for American Truck Simulator!

South Dakota's economy is built on a strong foundation of manufacturing, agriculture, and construction. While the state is well known for its farming and ranching, it is also home to a growing manufacturing sector that produces everything from trailers and heavy equipment to food products distributed across the country. As always, we've taken inspiration from these real-world industries to create authentic locations that bring the state's economy to life.

One of the new highlights you'll encounter are the trailer manufacturing plants located in Watertown and Mitchell. These large industrial facilities specialize in producing a variety of trailers, with completed units ready to be delivered to dealerships and customers across the map. You'll also be bringing in the materials and components needed to keep the production lines moving, making these factories a busy part of South Dakota's freight network.

If construction is more your style, you'll have the opportunity to deliver to new residential housing developments located in Watertown and Spearfish. These construction sites require regular deliveries of building materials, heavy machinery, and other essential cargo to support ongoing work.

The food industry also plays an important role in South Dakota's economy, and that's reflected in the food factory you'll find in Sioux Falls. This modern production facility receives a wide variety of raw ingredients before processing and packaging food products that are then shipped to businesses across the country. Whether you're delivering supplies or hauling finished goods, there's always plenty of work to be done.

These new industries are just a small taste of what awaits you in the South Dakota DLC, and we can't wait for you to explore them for yourself. If you're looking forward to hauling cargo across the Mount Rushmore State, be sure to add the South Dakota DLC to your Steam wishlist!

Also, remember to follow us on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube for all the latest news from this map expansion and other American Truck Simulator information, or sign up for our newsletter to stay informed. Keep on truckin'!

It's been a while since we last shared a story from our community, and today we're excited to bring you another one. This time, we follow Arda from Türkiye, a fan of Euro Truck Simulator 2, who turned his passion for virtual trucking into reality and has now earned his real truck driver's license!

What started as a love for life on the road in-game has grown into a real profession behind the wheel. Arda started playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 regularly in 2025, and the enjoyment he found in ETS2 inspired him to pursue truck driving in real life.

"ETS2 is extremely popular in Türkiye and has a very large and passionate community. I have always loved simulation games, so I bought the game immediately after discovering it. What I enjoyed most about ETS2 was its realism. The traffic rules, weather conditions, real truck brands, vehicles, countries, and maps all felt incredibly immersive. It genuinely felt like I was traveling across different countries. The truck sounds are very close to reality, and playing the game helps me relax and leave behind the stress of everyday life," says Arda.

When he started playing ETS2, he had no prior experience with driving trucks. At first, Arda played the single-player mode until he discovered Driving Academy and became hooked.

"I immediately thought that maybe this is what I've been looking for. It turned out to be exactly that. On that day, I decided to obtain a truck driver's license. I spent a lot of time practicing in Driving Academy. I challenged myself to complete the scenarios using only the first-person camera view. The final scenarios were extremely difficult. There were many nights when I stayed awake until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning trying to complete a single challenge. At one point, I thought I would never finish them, but after enough repetition and practice, I gradually improved. The final challenges were very difficult, but I was incredibly happy when I completed them all."

Arda realized how much he enjoyed being on the road and traveling toward a destination. The more time he spent playing the game, the more excited he became whenever he saw a real truck on the road. Before the end of the year, he signed up for a truck driving course and decided to pursue it seriously, and eventually succeeded as well.

"The experience I gained in ETS2, and especially in Driving Academy, helped me tremendously during my lessons. Reverse maneuvers, reversing with a trailer, and navigating tight or sharp turns felt much easier because I had already practiced them extensively in the game. I have been driving regular vehicles for many years, but maneuvering a trailer, especially in reverse, is completely different from driving a car. Without ETS2, I would have struggled much more," he told us.

We have also received stories over the years from other members of our community who had a similar story, and we are so proud that ETS2 contributed to Arda's career in real life. 

"I told my instructors about the game and how much it had helped me improve so quickly. When I noticed that I was progressing faster than many other trainee drivers, I realized just how beneficial the game had been for me. I saw that around 30–40% of candidates failed. I told many of them about ETS2 because it genuinely helped me. Reversing and parking a truck with a trailer is largely a matter of practice, and Driving Academy provides an excellent environment for that. After enough repetition, your brain becomes surprisingly comfortable performing similar maneuvers in real life."

It goes to show that Euro Truck Simulator 2 and the Driving Academy can help players to grasp the feeling of driving a truck and make it more comfortable when you sit in the real vehicle, as Arda elaborates on here:

"In the game, I often leaned my view out of the driver's side window while reversing into parking spaces. When I later tried similar maneuvers in real life, I was amazed by how natural they felt. Parking in an L-shape to the right (a 90-degree reverse parking maneuver) is difficult both in the game and in reality. However, through countless hours of practice in Driving Academy, I learned how to approach those situations calmly, how much steering input was appropriate, when a maneuver became risky, and how to reverse into areas with limited visibility. The experience felt remarkably close to real life. Without ETS2, I might not have passed the exam," Arda shared with us.

Even though he completed the truck driving license, there are still more things Arda needs to sort out before he can begin his real-life journey on the route.

"In Türkiye - and perhaps in other countries as well - obtaining a truck driver's license is only the first step. To work professionally as a truck driver, additional certificates, transportation qualifications, and international freight transport documents are required. I have already obtained all of them except one, and I am currently waiting for the final certification process to be completed. After that, I will officially be able to work in freight transportation," he says.

At the end of the blog, Arda has a message to the #BestCommunityEver, which might even motivate some of you who have been thinking about taking up a career as a truck driver to make the next step!

"After experiencing real trucks firsthand, I realized how comfortable they actually are. I wish I could drive a truck every day. The cabin is incredibly comfortable, and the driving position provides a great sense of confidence and safety. Being able to see the road from above other vehicles is a unique and enjoyable feeling. The large windshield offers a wonderful view of both the road and the scenery. Even in ETS2, I would often stop to admire beautiful landscapes and lighting conditions. Experiencing that feeling in real life, however, is something truly special and difficult to put into words."

We would like to thank Arda for sharing this story with our community and us, and wish him safe travels in his future truck driving adventures!

Don't forget to follow us on our X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube, so you won't miss out on upcoming news! We'd also really appreciate it if you could sign up for our newsletter to stay informed, even when you're not able to check out the blog or our socials.

Today, we’re excited to share your very first look at gameplay from our upcoming Coaches DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2, a highly anticipated expansion that many of you in our community have been eager to see more of. Let's hit the road!

In this first showcase, we go behind the wheel of the MAN Lion's Coach. Join us as we take on a bus route between Duisburg and Rotterdam. Along the way, you’ll get a glimpse at the passenger satisfaction mechanics in its current iteration, and how it will play a role in your journey on the road ahead.

You’ll also get a great look at the MAN Lion’s Coach itself, a vehicle well regarded in the industry for its blend of efficiency, practicality, and passenger comfort. Powered by MAN’s reliable D26 engine, it delivers strong performance for long-distance travel. Inside, the coach is designed with comfort in mind for both driver and passengers alike, featuring large windows, well-arranged seating, and a clean, spacious interior. We think it makes the perfect choice for our first gameplay preview!



Please keep in mind that this gameplay footage is still a work in progress and does not represent the final version of the Coaches DLC. Some features, visuals, and mechanics may change or be further refined as development continues.

We hope you are as excited as we are for the upcoming Coaches DLC as the development continues! For the latest updates, be sure to follow us on our social media channels on X, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok, or sign up for our newsletter. If you're looking forward to hitting the road in style, don’t forget to add the Coaches DLC to your Steam Wishlist!

We hope you've packed a warm jacket and perhaps a wee bit of shortbread, because today we're taking you to the Scottish Highlands! We're excited to share with you a closer look at Inverness, a brand-new city arriving as part of our upcoming UK Rework project for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Let's take a closer look at what this destination has to offer drivers.

Known as the "Gateway to the Highlands", Inverness serves as an important hub for transport, tourism, and industry in the north of Scotland. Situated at the mouth of the River Ness and close to the famous Loch Ness, this historic city combines stunning natural scenery with modern infrastructure.


One of the most striking sights you'll encounter is the iconic Kessock Bridge, which spans the Beauly Firth and connects Inverness with the Black Isle. Drivers travelling through the city's industrial area will be treated to impressive views of this landmark suspension bridge, which has become a defining feature of the city's skyline.

As you make your way through the centre of Inverness, you'll be able to enjoy views of the River Ness and spot one of the city's most recognisable riverside hotels. Our team has also recreated several notable landmarks throughout the city, including the Inverness Justice Centre and the Caledonian Stadium, which enjoys one of the most picturesque sporting backdrops in Scotland.


Beyond its landmarks, Inverness offers spectacular scenery in every direction. Surrounded by rolling hills, waterways, and the dramatic landscapes of the Scottish Highlands, the city acts as the perfect introduction to one of the most beautiful regions in the United Kingdom. It's easy to see why millions of visitors travel here every year to begin their Highland adventures.


Whilst there is plenty of sightseeing to enjoy, there's also no shortage of work available! Inverness is home to two key industries where drivers can pick up and deliver cargo. Those looking to help keep Scotland's economy moving can take on jobs at the local oil facility or deliver cargo through the Port of Inverness, where a warehouse offers a variety of freight opportunities connected to the region's maritime trade.


We hope you've enjoyed this first look at Inverness, a brand-new city coming to Scotland as part of our ongoing UK Rework project, which will arrive as a free update for all owners of Euro Truck Simulator 2 in the future. Be sure to let us know in the comments what you think of Inverness and which parts of Scotland you'd love to see featured next. Until next time, keep on truckin', and haste ye back!

British Columbia is home to some of Canada's most breathtaking landscapes, vibrant communities, and industries that keep the province moving. Today, we're excited to take you on a tour of several cities and towns featured in our upcoming British Columbia DLC for American Truck Simulator.

Grand Forks

Located in the beautiful Boundary Country region, Grand Forks sits at the meeting point of the Kettle and Granby Rivers. Surrounded by rolling hills, farmland, and forests, this welcoming community serves as an important agricultural and transportation center in southern British Columbia.

As you drive through town, you'll discover a charming downtown area alongside local industries that help support the region's economy. Truckers can find work connected to a local sawmill and building material factory, while those exploring the city may spot the historic gallery located near the heart of town. Whether you're delivering cargo or passing through on a longer journey, Grand Forks offers a relaxing stop with plenty of scenic views along the way.

Creston

Nestled within a fertile valley near the United States border, Creston is well known throughout British Columbia for its rich agricultural heritage. Surrounded by mountains and open farmland, this picturesque community offers drivers some truly memorable views.

Our team has recreated key landmarks and the area's distinct atmosphere, allowing players to experience the charm of this valley town firsthand. As you make your way through Creston, keep an eye out for recognizable sights, including the local theater, library, visitor center, and Presbyterian church. Truckers can also find a variety of cargo opportunities connected to the region's agricultural economy, with deliveries to and from farms, a winery, and a beverage factory making Creston an important destination for those traveling through southeastern British Columbia.

Sparwood

At the foot of the Canadian Rockies lies Sparwood, a town deeply connected to British Columbia's mining industry. Surrounded by rugged mountain landscapes, Sparwood is perhaps best known for its rich coal mining heritage and impressive industrial operations.

Drivers passing through will encounter dramatic scenery, steep mountain grades, and large-scale industry centered around the local coal mine. Keep an eye out for some of Sparwood's recognizable landmarks, including the visitor center, library, and the famous World's Largest Tandem Axle Truck displayed proudly near the highway. It's a sight that's hard to miss and has been carefully recreated by our map team.

Invermere

Situated along the shores of Lake Windermere, Invermere offers a refreshing change of pace amid the towering peaks of the Columbia Valley. Popular with both locals and visitors, this mountain town combines beautiful scenery with a welcoming small-town atmosphere.

As you travel through the area, you'll encounter stunning views of nearby lakes, forests, and mountain ranges. While tourism plays a significant role in the region, truckers will also find important connections to local businesses that help keep the valley supplied year-round. Drivers familiar with the area may even recognize the iconic Steak & Schnitzel Haus, faithfully recreated as part of the town's streetscape.

Golden

Nestled between several major mountain ranges, Golden serves as an important gateway to British Columbia's interior. Its strategic location has made it a key transportation hub for decades, connecting communities through some of Canada's most spectacular landscapes.

Players can look forward to navigating winding mountain highways, crossing impressive bridges, and experiencing the unique geography that surrounds the town. Golden's position along major transportation corridors ensures that there will be no shortage of deliveries moving through this busy mountain community, including work connected to the local railyard. Be sure to also look out for the town's visitor center as you pass through.

Princeton

Located where several highways converge, Princeton has long served as an important stop for travelers and truckers crossing southern British Columbia. Rich in history and surrounded by forests, rivers, and rolling hills, the town retains much of its classic frontier character.

As you pass through Princeton, you'll discover a blend of historic charm and modern industry. Local businesses and resource-based industries provide valuable job opportunities, including deliveries connected to a sawmill and nearby copper mining operations. Be sure to take in the surrounding scenery as you continue your travels through the region.

Campbell River

Situated on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, Campbell River is known as one of British Columbia's premier coastal communities. Surrounded by forests and the waters of the Discovery Passage, it plays a vital role in the province's forestry, fishing, and transportation industries.

Truckers arriving in Campbell River will experience a unique coastal atmosphere unlike anywhere else in the DLC. From bustling industrial areas to scenic waterfront views, the city offers a memorable destination for those making deliveries across Vancouver Island. Drivers can also service the local marina, an important part of Campbell River's connection to the surrounding waterways. The surrounding landscapes and industries provide plenty of reasons to return time and time again.

These are just a few of the many cities and communities you'll be able to discover throughout British Columbia. Our teams are working hard to capture the unique character, industries, and landscapes that make this province such an exciting destination for truckers.

Stay tuned for more previews as we continue to reveal what’s in store for this DLC. In the meantime, don’t forget to add British Columbia to your Steam Wishlist and follow us on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok, or subscribe to our newsletter for more behind-the-scenes content, teasers, and announcements. Until next time, keep on truckin' and happy haulin'!

We are excited to reveal the Holland Style Tuning Pack DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2, which is now released and available for you to get on Steam! This DLC contains dozens of accessories and paint jobs for a wide range of trucks and is the largest tuning pack we have developed for our games so far. Let's see what's in store!

Holland Style is one of the most distinctive and popular trends in European truck customization. In the 1970s, Dutch truckers began to adopt the idea of taking pride in their own trucks. Holland Style is characterized above all by perfectly coordinated colours, with a minimum of chrome, and an emphasis on symmetry, clean lines, and attention to detail.

The Holland Style Tuning Pack features a wide range of accessories for both the interior and exterior of your truck, along with an extensive selection of stylish paint jobs. This popular tuning style has been one of the most requested additions from our community, and many of the included items were inspired directly by their ideas.

"It all started some time ago when I was thinking about creating my own paint job DLC. Since we were working on the Benelux Rework at that time, which included the Netherlands, I wanted to create something to celebrate the occasion. I would like to thank all my colleagues for their tremendous cooperation and for putting so much passion into this project," says our 2D Graphic Designer for vehicles, Matej, who initiated the creation of this tuning pack.

With this DLC, you'll be able to customize your truck with a vast range of light boxes (for high-roof sleeper cabs), horns, mudflaps, auxiliary lights, Danish lights, and the famous double burners, as well as pennants, toys & decorations, steering wheels, and light boxes for the interior, allowing you to create a truly personalized cabin and make it feel like home.

While many of these accessories were designed by our team, we're especially proud to have collaborated with several well-known manufacturers to bring licensed products into the game. These include double burners, horns, auxiliary lights, and Danish plush pillows from Omnius; long mudflaps, pennants, and air fresheners from Go-In-Style; as well as interior light boxes, long mudflaps, and pennants from TruckJunkie.

You will also be able to select from 23 different paint jobs, each of which has 3 RGB presets that the player can choose from and customize the colours! The pack includes one paint job shared across all supported trucks, as well as two unique paint jobs for each of the truck groups listed below, with each pair tailored specifically to the respective truck models and differing between groups:

The tuning accessories for both the exterior and interior are available for all trucks in ETS2, where compatibility allows. The only exception is light boxes, which are limited to the trucks listed above. We also plan to update this DLC in the future for upcoming trucks.

While this tuning pack is going to make your truck beautiful on its own, we recommend combining it with other DLC for a top look, such as the HS-Shoch Tuning Pack, Michelin Fan Pack, XF Tuning Pack, Mighty Griffin Tuning Pack, FH Tuning Pack, Renault Trucks T Tuning Pack, or Actros Tuning Pack. All of these are fully compatible with this DLC, allowing you to create truly stunning combinations!

So if you'd like to start trucking in true Holland style, make sure to get this DLC on Steam now!

Remember to also give our X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, TikTok, and YouTube a follow, as you'll receive updates about our games straight to your feed. Or subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed. Until next time, safe travels!

In today's blog, we're excited to share something we know our #BestCommunityEver has been eagerly waiting for - the first gameplay video preview from project Road Trip, with the Ford F-150 as the first vehicle in the spotlight.

The Ford F-150 has earned its legendary status over decades at the top as America's best-selling car, built on a foundation of reliability, toughness, and continuous innovation. In this gameplay preview, we take a relaxed drive with the 2023 Ford F-150 Lariat, one of the vehicles included in the upcoming Ford Car Pack for American Truck Simulator.

We begin our journey on the roads near the city of Redding in sunny California. From there, the route takes us through busier traffic areas before transitioning to a dirt road, where the F-150 truly shines, showcasing its smooth handling and impressive capability on uneven, rugged terrain. So without further ado, let's take a look!

We hope you have enjoyed the first video preview from the Road Trip project, but remember that everything you saw is still very much a work in progress, such as the vehicle sounds and behaviour, and will be adjusted before the release. We can't wait to bring you more previews of what Road Trip will look like in our game, so stay tuned.

We would also like to thank Ford very much for enabling us to bring this amazing vehicle into our game! If you are looking forward to hitting the road in the F-150, make sure to add the Ford Car Pack for American Truck Simulator to your Steam Wishlist.

Also, remember to stay up to date with the latest Road Trip developments by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on X/Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Instagram. Until next time, we will see you on the road!

Even though the 1.60 update for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator was released just last week, we are already working on features for future updates. And since we want to gather as much feedback from our #BestCommunityEver, we are starting an experimental beta way in advance of the actual update release, with focus on two upcoming features - the Multi-Function Display and In-Game Menu. To make sure we get it right, we need your help!

As mentioned above, this time, we are starting the beta cycle from an early stage. The level of polish and stability in this release might not yet be on the same level as with our typical Open Betas. However, we recognize the importance of involving our community in the development process and need to gather feedback early to help us identify any imperfections.

With the Experimental Beta, we would like to invite our dedicated players to join us in fine-tuning, testing, and providing feedback on the upcoming Multi-Function Display and In-Game Menu features for both games. We appreciate all of your feedback on our forum and your bug reports in the dedicated section for ATS and ETS2.

Multi-Function Display

The MFD has been part of our vision to improve the overall in-game driving interface and accessibility of vehicle systems. Our goal is to create a more unified and intuitive way to access vehicle functions directly in-game, without the need to interrupt your experience or remember dozens of keybinds.

The MFD is an in-game interface accessible from both interior and exterior camera views. From there, you can quickly navigate through various categories and vehicle systems such as driving assists, lighting controls, vehicle adjustments, media functions, trip information, and more.

One of the main goals of this feature is to reduce interruptions while accessing vehicle systems and information. In most situations, opening the MFD will not pause gameplay, and vehicle controls will remain responsive during interaction.

Another key goal of this feature is discoverability. Over the years, ETS2 and ATS have accumulated many functions and controls that players may never encounter. The MFD helps make these features easier to find by presenting them in context and displaying their associated key binds directly within the menu.

The MFD is designed to support keyboard, mouse, wheel, and controller (both on PC and consoles in the future) users alike, with customisable navigation controls. You can read more about this feature here.

Please note that for the purposes of MFD in Experimental Beta, the controllers will only support In-Game Mapping Mode (which is the recommended default). The support for Steam Client Input Mode will be added only for the full release.

In-Game Menu

The In-Game Menu is a new quick-access overlay presented as a compact horizontal bar at the top of the screen, providing players with instant access to essential functions.

In the new design, the In-Game Menu, accessible via F1, includes two roles: it provides access to functions exclusive to it, while retaining quick access to selected functions that were previously available through F4 and F7. In-Game menu now consolidates what was previously spread across F1, F4, and F7, providing more immediate access to important system and gameplay functions.

From this bar, players can quickly access controls, photo mode, widget options, services, vehicle adjustments, and the quick info menu.

In single-player mode, opening the In-Game Menu will pause the game. For now, the In-Game Menu will not be accessible while driving in the convoy, but we are exploring ways in which players can use some of the menu's functions while driving in multiplayer.

Don't forget that both of these features are still in a work-in-progress phase and are undergoing internal and external testing and adjustments, so your feedback is crucial in helping us polish them before the final release.

We hope you'll enjoy these new additions, but please remember: It's only an experimental beta, not an open beta yet or even a stable public version, so you may encounter bugs, instability, or crashes - which is where we need your input the most to solve any of these issues. The new features for both games will also be available only in English, so it's completely okay if you want to wait for the open beta or the final release. But if you're interested in helping us get there faster, we'll appreciate all of your feedback on our forum.

If you wish to participate in this Experimental Beta, you can find this version in the Experimental Beta branch on Steam. The way to access it is as follows: Steam client → LIBRARY → right-click on Euro Truck Simulator 2 or American Truck Simulator → Properties → Betas tab → Beta Participation drop-down menu → experimental_beta. No password is required. Sometimes you will have to restart your Steam client to see the correct branch name there.

Thank you for your ongoing dedication and feedback. We believe the Experimental Beta will be a valuable stepping stone towards Open Beta and the 1.61 version. Don't forget to stay connected with us and all the latest information through our social media channels, make sure to follow us on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok. Happy trucking!

Today, we are excited to share with you a look at one of Ireland’s most scenic driving experiences coming to the upcoming Isle of Ireland DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Introducing the iconic N59 and the famous Connemara Loop, a route that'll take you past some of the most breathtaking landscapes, remote countrysides, and natural landmarks.

The N59 is the longest national secondary road in Ireland, stretching over 290 kilometres between Sligo and Galway, this scenic route takes drivers through winding roads, quiet villages, rolling hills, lakes, and dramatic Atlantic landscapes. Along the way, players will experience the unique atmosphere that makes Ireland’s west coast so popular with travellers from around the world, which our talented teams have been recreating in detail. 

On your journey along the N59, drivers will be able to travel on the renowned Connemara Loop, where roads weave between mountains, lakes and open countryside. Some of you with a sharp eye may already recognize the picturesque Pine Island area along Derryclare Lough, which was one of the locations we shared in our “Ireland: Guess Where We Are” blog.

Further along the route, players will encounter one of Ireland’s most iconic landmarks, Kylemore Abbey. Nestled beside the lake and backed by dramatic mountain scenery, this historic estate is being recreated with great care by our map and asset teams.

Continuing north, you'll be able to view Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord. Carved deep into the surrounding mountains, this spectacular natural formation is well worth a stop to admire its beauty. As you travel along the N59, you'll also be treated to views of Croagh Patrick, one of Ireland's most iconic mountains, known locally as "The Reek". 

You'll then have the opportunity to discover the charming town of Westport, one of the smallest settlements represented in this DLC. Despite its modest size, our team felt it was an important addition in helping represent the authentic communities found across the Isle of Ireland.

North of Westport, the road ventures through the vast Wild Nephin National Park, known for its remote peat bog landscapes, dark rolling hills, and rugged wilderness. The scenery here takes on a completely different character. Adventurous truckers exploring the surrounding roads may also stumble upon hidden viewpoints overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and spot countless small islands scattered off the coast. 

Nearby Sligo, you'll travel through small settlements, open countryside, and stretches of coastal scenery that showcase the raw beauty of the northwest. Whether you are delivering cargo along winding mountain roads or simply enjoying the scenery from your cab, the N59 and Connemara Loop is a route you cannot miss!

Tá an tOileán Smaragaide ag glaoch! The Emerald Isle is calling! If you're excited to discover, explore, and travel across the Isle of Ireland, be sure to add this upcoming map expansion to your Steam Wishlist! We sincerely thank everyone who has supported us so far by doing so. We look forward to sharing more from this upcoming DLC in the future. Until then, keep on truckin’!

Today, we would like to show you a preview of one of the most famous and unique landscapes we have been recreating for the South Dakota DLC for American Truck Simulator - the beautiful Badlands National Park!

Situated along the edge of the Great Plains in southwestern South Dakota, Badlands National Park spans 244,000 acres of dramatically eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires, alongside the largest protected mixed-grass prairie in the United States.

But why is such a stunning area named Badlands? For hundreds of years, the Lakota people have called it "mako sica", which translates to "bad lands". Then, early French fur trappers called the area "les mauvaises terres à traverser" (bad lands to travel across). Because when it rains there, the wet clay becomes sticky, and the jagged canyons also make it hard to navigate. The winters are cold and windy, and the summers are hot and dry. But it could have had a very different name, as in 1922, when Badlands was first proposed as a national park, the suggested name was Wonderland National Park.

The Badlands contain one of the world's richest fossil beds, preserving evidence of ancient species such as horses and rhinos that once roamed the region. Today, the area is home to bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and a diverse range of other plant and animal life. As players enter this region in the game, they will be immediately greeted by roaming bison and striking rock formations.

As you drive further, you'll come across iconic places like Pinnacles Overlook, Yellow Mounds Overlook, and the Fossil Trail.

"I fell in love with this place the first time we visited it on our research trip; it's like stepping into another world, where lush green grass blends with the colorful local soil and rolling hills," says Draky, our map designer who worked on recreating this national park for our game.

One thing you may notice in this region is the sudden transition from expansive plains and gentle hills to a dramatic, iconic landscape characterized by rugged formations and large wildlife such as the bison. As the seasons change, the Badlands vegetation undergoes significant shifts in color throughout the year. The version depicted in the game reflects how the landscape appears between July and August, in which the game is set.

Draky also shares her insight on how difficult it was to transfer this wonderful area into the scale of American Truck Simulator, with a message to our community: "The biggest challenge was the initial layout planning, as the space is quite limited, but I'm still very happy with the result, and I'm sure you'll love experiencing this place every time you pass through."

We hope you are looking forward to exploring the Badlands. If so, make sure to add the South Dakota DLC to your Steam wishlist! 

Also, remember to follow us on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube for all the latest news from this map expansion and other American Truck Simulator information, or sign up for our newsletter to stay informed. Keep on truckin'!

Today, we're excited to share another episode of our SCS On The Road series, where we travel across North America to meet passionate vehicle owners and gather valuable reference materials for future projects.

This time, our journey brought us to Denton, Texas, where we had the opportunity to experience a true American automotive icon - the 1997 Dodge Viper GTS.

During our visit, we had the chance to document and scan this beautiful car, getting our vehicle artists the accurate reference data needed to faithfully recreate it for the Road Trip project in American Truck Simulator. From its distinctive exterior styling to the finer interior details, every piece of information helps us bring this legendary sports car to life in-game.

This vehicle belongs to Dino, who kindly welcomed our team and generously allowed us to document his prized Viper. We also had the pleasure of having an interview with him, where he shared more about his amazing ride.

The Dodge Viper remains one of the most recognizable American sports cars ever produced, and seeing this exceptionally preserved 1997 example in-person was a fantastic experience for our team.

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to Dino for taking the time to speak with us, sharing his story, and allowing us to scan and capture reference materials from his stunning Viper. Support from owners like Dino is invaluable and helps us create authentic experiences for players around the world.

We hope you enjoy this latest episode of SCS On The Road from Denton, Texas. Be sure to watch the video and learn more about this incredible machine and its owner.

Ready to hit the road in the Dodge Viper? Be sure to add the RAM & Dodge Car Pack for American Truck Simulator to your Steam Wishlist! To stay up to date with the latest development news for Road Trip, don’t forget to follow our blog, subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on X/Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Instagram.

Today, we’re excited to introduce the team behind the upcoming Soul of Anatolia map expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2. This upcoming DLC will take drivers on a journey through one of Türkiye’s most diverse and captivating regions, featuring a rich blend of landscapes, historic cities, cultural landmarks, and scenic roads waiting to be explored.

In this edition of Meet the Team, we’d like to give you a closer look at some of the people working on the project. They have prepared a few words about themselves, their roles, and the work they have been focusing on throughout the map's development. We hope you enjoy getting to know the team helping shape the world of Soul of Anatolia.

Ernest - ETS2 Map DLC Lead

"I’ve been working at SCS for seven years now, and during that time I’ve been involved in a wide range of projects. Following the Greece DLC, Soul of Anatolia is my second project as lead. Just as in the past, I’m fortunate to have a very talented and enthusiastic team, whose work, even now in the development stage, shows that Anatolia will once again be a breathtaking DLC. Türkiye is a beautiful country, and everyone on the team is fully committed and proud to bring it to players in the most perfect form possible. I can’t wait to show you more!"

Tomáš - Senior Map Designer

"I joined SCS in December 2017 as a map designer, and I’ve been working in the same role ever since. Over the years, I’ve created many locations in our game world that you can drive through. I played a major role in the creation of cities such as Klaipeda, Andenes, Larissa, Lillehammer, Zadar, Olbia, and Kovrov, and I am currently creating cities for the Soul of the Anatolia DLC. I have also created many roads connecting these cities.

One of the major tasks that is part of my job as a map designer is working on border crossings. If you’ve ever driven through a border crossing in our game, you’ve likely come across my work. At some point, I became a specialist in this area, and I’m now in charge of all work related to borders. 

What I enjoy the most about being a map designer is discovering new possibilities for map creation. I always try to get the most out of a specific location and bring as much originality and authenticity as possible into the game world. What brings me the most joy is when a player drives along our roads and recognises places they’ve visited in real life. Euro Truck Simulator 2 is still just a game, but we strive to make the player feel like they’re moving through the real world, and when that feeling comes to the player, it’s a sign to me that I’m doing my job well."

Jakub - Map Designer

"My journey into game development began at SCS four years ago, when I joined the team working on the West Balkans DLC. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to grow both professionally and creatively while contributing to projects such as the Greece DLC and the Nordic Horizons DLC.

Creating immersive game worlds is where I feel most at home. As a creative person with a keen eye for detail, map design allows me to make the most of my strengths, bringing virtual environments to life and shaping experiences for players to explore.

I specialise primarily in landscapes, expansive scenery, and distinctive locations with unique character and atmosphere. I enjoy finding ways to get the most out of every location and creating a world that feels natural and authentic.

The greatest reward for me is the moment when I see that players are truly enjoying the game and that the world we’ve worked on is able to draw them in.

In addition to designing the game world, I also contribute to the creation of cutscenes and enjoy sharing my experience with my colleagues. I consider the sharing of knowledge across the team to be an important part of our work, as is our collective effort to continually improve the quality of our game.

Soul of Anatolia will be another beautiful and entertaining map DLC. You have a lot to look forward to!"

Klára - Map Designer

"Hi, my name is Klára, and I have been working at SCS for 3 years. During this time, I had the opportunity to be part of the amazing map teams that worked on the Greece DLC and the Nordic Horizons DLC. This time we are going to Türkiye, a country that truly stands out with its breathtaking landscapes, rich history, and unique culture. I am looking forward to capturing its atmosphere and bringing it to our game. Buckle up because this is just the beginning, and there will be much more to see!"

Vlad - Map Designer

"I come from the modding community, where I passionately built map mods for ETS2 for more than 10 years. Now, I have finally decided to join SCS Software, where I've already been working for almost 2 months! As a former experienced logistician and expeditor, SCS' trucking games actually inspired me to study transport and logistics, which led me to work in the logistics industry in the past. On the modding forums, I'm also known by the nickname "Vladzz-G".

Türkiye is my first project at SCS. It is a quite mountainous country, so it’s a great challenge and opportunity to apply my 10 years of mapping experience to represent the region as realistically as possible. Even so, I am still discovering new mapping tricks that make the work easier. Right now, I’m working hard on a coastal city (the name of which I won't reveal just yet!), creating advanced road layouts and doing initial landscape work. It is interesting that a long time ago, I tried to avoid mapping mountainous areas because I thought it would be too difficult, and I mostly preferred mapping flat or gently rolling terrain. But now, I feel quite confident mapping mountains too!

I can't wait to see how this DLC will look in the end, and I'm so excited to share my work with you all when the official DLC releases!"

Ondřej - Junior Map Designer

"Hi, everyone. I've been a fan of city-builders and simulators for a long time now, so a few months ago I decided to join the SCS family as a map designer, which combines both of my favourite genres in one.

Currently, I'm still learning and working on my very first project. The southern part of the Turkish coastline is as beautiful as it is challenging. I think that with its big hills and windy roads, it will be a great visual experience."

Petr - Junior Map Designer

"Hi! I joined SCS Software a few months ago. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved building miniature cities with toy blocks. Today, I’m a huge fan of building and strategy games, and I also love digital drawing. It’s awesome that I get to build worlds for a living!

Soul of Anatolia DLC is my first project. Currently, I’m working on the southern part of the country, which is known for its massive and beautiful mountain ranges. I’m still learning the ropes and gaining valuable experience from my amazing colleagues. I’m doing my best to truly capture the style of the local atmosphere. I’m giving it my all, and I really hope the players will enjoy exploring the new map."

Lucie - Junior Map Designer

"I joined SCS in 2024 as part of the Nordic Horizons team, where I spent most of my time creating roads throughout Finland. 

Now, I have the opportunity to work on several cities and interesting locations across Anatolia. Each place has its own distinct character and atmosphere, which makes the work varied and constantly challenging. What I enjoy most is the chance to capture the richness and uniqueness of this region and bring it to life in our game world."

Kristýna - Map Designer

"I joined SCS Software in 2020 and started working on the Iberia DLC, which was then in the middle of production. The last project I had the honour of working on before Anatolia called me was Nordic Horizons. I moved to the south from the towns below the Arctic Circle - there couldn't be a bigger contrast! It is this diversity and learning the peculiarities typical of different countries that keep us curious and eager to present those beautiful places in our game.

I joined the Türkiye team in the pre-production phase. I worked on various tasks across the map and in the process, got to know the variability and diversity of the regions of Anatolia. I was greatly impressed by the traces of rich history in the landscape. Due to the focus of our game on transporting goods, for example, Sultanhani Caravanserai cannot be missing. It is fascinating that sometimes, even at first glance, an ordinary hill, around which we drive, hides an archaeological site of ancient monuments."

Pavel - Map Designer

"Hi, my name is Pavel, and I have been working at SCS Software for almost seven years. As a Map Designer, I have collaborated with many great people on projects such as the Iberia, West Balkans, and Greece DLCs.

Thanks to my passion for roads and driving, I gradually transitioned into the role of a road specialist, contributing my experience to other projects as well, including the Nordic Horizons DLC, the Scandinavia Refresh, and the Benelux Rework.

My goal is always to enrich each project with new ideas and details, such as new prefab types and road accessories, to bring the experience of our virtual world a little closer to the real one. I hope to deliver something special for you in this project as well."

That concludes today’s Meet the Team! We’d like to thank everyone featured in this blog for taking the time to share a little about themselves and their contributions to Soul of Anatolia.

We always enjoy giving our community a glimpse behind the curtain and highlighting the talented people who bring our virtual worlds to life. We hope you enjoyed learning more about the team and the passion driving this project forward.

As development continues, we look forward to sharing more updates from the road ahead. Until then, make sure to add the Soul of Anatolia DLC to your Steam wishlist and remember to follow us on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok, or subscribe to our newsletter, so you never miss any updates. Until next time, we will see you on the road!

Creating Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator is a collaborative effort involving many talented teams across SCS Software. While map designers, artists, programmers and more build the driving experience, another team works alongside them to ensure everything functions exactly as intended before players hit the road.

In this Under the Hood blog, we'd like to introduce you to two members of our In-Game QA team, Ivan and David. We asked them about their day to day work, how testing fits into the development process, why quality assurance is about much more than simply playing the game and more!

David - ATS Map QA Lead

"Hey, fellow truckers! My name is David, and I'm 28 years old. I joined SCS as a junior tester when I was just 20, and at the time, I was the youngest employee in the entire company. Today, I'm the QA Lead for ATS map testing. That means I organize and oversee the testing of all ATS map DLCs, communicate with the leads of our map design teams, solve the most complex issues and bugs we encounter, and simply be there for my team whenever they need help. Over the years, I've seen SCS Software grow from a team of around 100 employees into a company of more than 400. When I joined, we were working on the Oregon DLC, and it has been incredible to see how our development and testing processes have evolved and improved alongside our expanding game worlds."

Ivan - World Map Design QA Lead

"Hi everyone! My name is Ivan, and I've been with SCS Software for a little over six years. I started out as a junior tester, but soon after, I took on the responsibility of overseeing map testing for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Today, my role is World Map Design QA Lead, and I manage our entire map testing team, which currently consists of 20 people. Together, we oversee testing for both American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2. While my colleague Davincillo handles the day to day management of ATS, my main focus over the years has remained on ETS2." 

When people hear "game testing" they often imagine that you simply get to play games all day. How different is the reality?

"Map testing is definitely not just playing the game all day. That's a classic myth. While the 'playing' aspect certainly has its place, it really only happens during the final stages of our testing process. The reality is far more methodical. We spend hours, or even days, testing one specific part of the map. We drive through the same stretch of road multiple times, checking completely different things on each pass while using different camera views and debug tools.

Simply playing the game is not enough to be a good tester. There is a specific skill set you need, these include attention to detail, a logical and analytical mindset, a good understanding of game industry standards, and a passion for making games more enjoyable for others. Communication skills are also vital because finding a bug is only half of the job. The other half is making sure the right people understand the issue. Ultimately, a good tester should save developers time. Instead of simply reporting that 'something is wrong,' a proper report explains the issue, how to reproduce it, what causes it, and potentially how it could be fixed."


What does a typical day look like for a QA Lead?

"Every day is a little different, but it generally consists of a mix of meetings, coordination, and oversight. Most of my time is spent assigning work, tracking testing progress, reviewing reported bugs, and regularly syncing with developers. Some days are calm and focused on planning, while others are all about solving unexpected, fast-moving issues. A large part of the job involves working closely with the team, discussing the bugs we find, figuring out the best approach, and deciding together what needs the most urgent attention."

What are some of the main things your teams are looking for when testing the game?

"It heavily depends on the stage of production. In the early stages, we focus mostly on the road network itself, its layout, and ensuring the drive is smooth. A big part of this phase is also checking the functionality of the economy and verifying the placement of game elements such as gas stations, companies, and truck dealers. In the later stages, our focus shifts to the AI's ability to navigate the road network, alongside visual polish, correct signage, and core gameplay. This is also when we examine performance across different areas to identify and fix any problematic frame rate drops.

Broadly speaking, we focus on almost everything related to the map. That includes road layouts and collisions, the job economy, gas station distribution, sleep areas and service locations, the UI map and its icons, direction blockers, road markings, traffic signs, speed limits, traffic lights, navigation and voice guidance, garage cutscenes, AI trajectories, triggers, quality consistency, scene logic, terrain, vegetation, world and country borders, asset collisions, gaps in terrain, floating objects, performance-heavy locations, environmental sounds and more!"


What do you enjoy most about working in QA?

"Being a game tester is a dream job for many people, and in many ways, it really is. There is an incredibly rewarding feeling in knowing that you're the safety net protecting the player's immersion and helping make the game better for everyone. It's deeply satisfying to watch a messy, broken build gradually turn into a polished world that millions of people will enjoy driving through. 

When a new DLC is released and you see players talking about how smooth the roads feel, how great the scenery looks, or how well everything runs, it's a fantastic feeling. You can look at that and think, 'Yeah, my team helped build that.'"

When a new map DLC or major update enters testing, how do you approach such a large project from start to finish?

"The QA process often begins before production even starts. We provide early feedback on concepts to avoid known issues before development kicks off. Once production begins, we use an agile testing approach, working through multiple iterations throughout development rather than waiting until the very end to deliver one massive list of issues.

Our systematic testing process is divided into four iterations and an economy test. The first iteration focuses entirely on road layouts, ensuring roads, turns, and slopes are safely drivable, even with the longest trailers and low-power engines. The economy test then verifies that companies generate jobs correctly and that cities provide a healthy variety of destinations. As development progresses, later iterations shift towards visual quality, gameplay consistency, and overall polish.

To make testing manageable, we divide each project into smaller sections, sometimes resulting in dozens or even hundreds of individual tasks covering specific roads and cities. These are tracked throughout development, allowing us to revisit the same areas at different stages. We use maps, checklists, internal tools, and bug-tracking systems to ensure every square mile is covered, while also encouraging testers to explore freely because unexpected issues are often found where nobody would think to look."


Many players only see the finished product. Roughly how much testing goes into a map expansion, update, or feature before release? Does it differ depending on what needs testing?

"There is a massive amount of testing involved, and it differs greatly depending on the project. Smaller projects, such as special event maps, can be thoroughly tested in just a few days. On the other hand, a huge project like the Nordic Horizons expansion takes thousands of hours of rigorous testing before it is ready for release.

Every single road, city, company, gas station, sleep area, tollgate, and ferry is tested at least four times, with a different tester each time. To give some insight into the scale, our Mantis bug tracker recorded 6,849 reports for the Illinois DLC, while South Dakota has generated 6,318 reports so far. These reports range from tiny holes in the terrain that are almost impossible to notice to major bugs that can cause the game to crash. Every report is assigned a priority and severity level so that the most serious issues are addressed first."


How closely do QA teams work with map designers, programmers, artists, and other departments throughout development?

"We work very closely across departments because testing is integrated throughout the entire development cycle. As map QA, we collaborate most closely with the map design and art teams. While the majority of our day-to-day communication happens through reports in the Mantis bug tracker, we also actively discuss issues through private messages on our internal chat system, and arrange direct meetings whenever an issue is important enough. Our interaction with the programming department is mostly on a need-to-know basis, usually when there is an issue involving erratic AI behaviour or when a brand-new code feature is being implemented directly into the map."

What tools or methods help you track, reproduce, and report issues efficiently?

"We rely on several internal systems that are connected to one another to track individual bugs and the overall progress of a DLC. We use a specialised internal reporting tool that allows a tester to submit a bug directly from the game or the map editor into our central bug-tracking database. Within a few minutes, the report appears and can even be viewed directly inside the map editor itself. This allows map designers to immediately see the exact issue within their active workspace and resolve it much more efficiently, saving a significant amount of time throughout development."


If there's one thing you'd like for people to better understand about QA and the work your teams do, what would it be?

"We'd like players to understand that map testing is a highly skilled, technical job, not simply driving around looking at the scenery or casually stumbling across a floating tree. In reality, a good tester is part detective and part data analyst. If we come across a strange physics bump on a highway or see AI traffic piling up at a roundabout, we don't just report it and move on. We have to understand exactly why it's happening. Translating what is broken on the road into actionable, structured information that our developers can easily understand and fix takes time, patience, and deep knowledge of the game."

What is one aspect of QA work that you think players would be most surprised to learn about?

"Players would probably be surprised by just how much knowledge about the game and real-world infrastructure you need to become a good tester. Our team has to maintain a solid understanding of complex internal game rules, real-world traffic laws, and regional layout standards across different countries. 

It's similar to the difference between someone who owns a truck and knows how to drive it and a mechanic who can remove the entire engine, take it apart piece by piece, and put it back together again. Becoming a highly skilled map tester can take years, and many testers naturally become specialists in certain areas of the game because they spend so much time working with those specific systems behind the scenes."


Have you encountered any particularly memorable, unusual, or funny bugs during your time at SCS Software?

Ivan: "Absolutely. Simulators have incredibly complex physics engines, and when things go wrong, they go wrong hilariously. It never gets old seeing an AI vehicle catapulted straight into space. Sometimes, our map designers also leave creative little surprises or jokes for us to discover during development, although we always make sure they don't make it into the live version of the game.

David: "One memorable moment happened while I was parking at a company prefab. I heard a train horn somewhere in the distance, and the sound kept getting louder until suddenly it was right next to me. The only problem was that there was no train there, and there weren't even any railway tracks nearby. A moment later, something invisible hit my truck and launched it all the way across the company. For a few seconds, I genuinely thought I had discovered a haunted company prefab."

How valuable are bug reports and feedback from the community when helping improve the game?

"Community feedback is extremely valuable to us. While our internal QA process is thorough, there are always issues that slip through, and players help us catch them by spotting details or inconsistencies that we might miss. What makes community feedback especially useful is the context players provide. Many are very familiar with the real-world locations we recreate, so they can quickly point out inaccuracies that would otherwise be difficult for us to notice. They also encounter a huge variety of gameplay situations, which helps surface edge cases that are hard to reproduce internally.

"In many cases, a well written report from the community can save us hours of investigation because players provide screenshots, videos, logs, save files, and clear reproduction steps."


Do you have a message for our community?

"A huge thank you for your support, feedback, and for riding along with us for so many years. It's an amazing feeling to work on a game where the players care just as much about the world as the people who build it. Your dedication pushes everyone at the studio to keep raising the bar with every new state, country, and feature. Safe travels, and we'll see you out on the road!"

We'd like to thank both David and Ivan for taking the time out of their busy days to chat with us about their roles in QA and how the team plays such an integral part in bringing our truck simulator titles to life. We hope you've learned a little more about the work that goes on behind the scenes. If you enjoyed this edition of Under the Hood, be sure to leave them a message in the comments below or on our social media channels. Until next time, keep on truckin'! 

We are excited to announce that the 1.60 update for Euro Truck Simulator 2 is now officially released! Let's dive in and take a look at what's in store.

As always, we would first like to thank everyone who participated in the open beta phase and helped us fine-tune all the new content by reporting issues to the dedicated section on our forum. Now let's see what's new in the 1.60 update!

Game Radio

With the 1.60 update, we are introducing Game Radio, a brand-new in-game radio system designed to make every drive feel more immersive and authentic. Rather than just playing music, Game Radio gives you five stations with their own distinct sounds, identities, and moods, each one built to shape the atmosphere of your journey in a different way.

Players can tune into Rust FM, Escape, PUMP IT!, Pop Gear, and Roadio, spanning guitar-driven rock and American roots music to electronic, pop, and lo-fi. Each station features carefully curated tracks, handpicked to hold up across many hours on the road. Escape is also a radio station designed to help content creators, and we are committed to do our best to keep it stream-safe.

Game Radio also introduces a new in-game widget displaying station info, track titles, and artist names while driving. Players can customize widget behavior through the Widget Options menu (F6). This update also brings a range of improvements to the existing radio and music player systems.

Game Radio arrives with its musical foundation in place, with more planned for future updates. You can find out more information about Game Radio in our dedicated blog post.

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.

During the development of Project Road Trip, we implemented a wide range of visual and technical improvements. 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. The first trucks to benefit from the Improved Material System in ETS2 are the 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.

Light Tweaks

We have carried out minor adjustments to the global lighting, primarily focused on exposure and contrast balancing, along with subtle visual refinements for bad weather conditions. The work mainly consisted of smoothing out and polishing the overall visuals to achieve a more consistent and refined look.

Volvo FH Series 6 Update

With this update, truckers can customize their Volvo FH Series 6 with a selection of several new aerodynamic parts, including the newly designed aerodynamic roof deflectors available for the Sleeper Cab, Globetrotter, and Globetrotter XL cab variants. These updated components help create a smoother and more refined roof profile, blending seamlessly into the truck's overall design.

Alongside these additions, all Aero cabin variants also have the option to add new distinctive black aerodynamic A-Pillar trim, as featured on the newest generation of Volvo FH truck. These new additions reflect Volvo Trucks' ongoing efforts to improve aerodynamic efficiency and optimise airflow around the cab to help enhance energy efficiency and overall vehicle performance.

Job Details Widget

Based on feedback from our #BestCommunityEver and upcoming widget designs, the Job Details Widget is introduced with the 1.60 update. Its primary purpose is to enable a new, more immediate, and concise way of displaying relevant job info. Also, in response to community feedback, the GPS now displays the estimated arrival day and time, along with the remaining travel time and distance.

You can enable the Job Details Widget through the Widget Options menu (F6). The widget displays key job information, including cargo type and weight, delivery location, job income (colour-highlighted), and the remaining time to complete the job, so players will have this info available immediately without the necessity to pause the game. You can read more about the feature here.

Expanded Rest Mechanic

This new feature gives players greater control over their rest periods by allowing them to choose how long they want to sleep and exactly when they want to wake up, instead of being limited to a predefined rest duration.

Alongside this change, the Fatigue system is now split into two separate values: Rest State and Mandatory Break, each represented by its own icon in the UI.

The Rest State, symbolised by a bed icon, now gradually depletes rather than recovers over time. Extended periods of driving will steadily reduce the Rest State, while resting will restore it at a faster rate.

The Mandatory Break system, indicated by a "P" icon along with the remaining hours before a required stop, functions more strictly. In Euro Truck Simulator 2, drivers may drive for up to 10 hours before taking a mandatory break, which requires 9 consecutive hours of rest. You can read more about this feature here.

Changelog

Vehicles

• Volvo FH Series 6 Update

Visual

• Improved Material System
• Light Tweaks

Sound

• Game Radio

UI/UX

• Job Details Widget
• Expanded Rest Mechanic

In today's blog, we take you along on a trip to the town of Akureyri, which you will be able to visit yourself when the upcoming Iceland DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2 releases. So let's take a look!

Akureyri is the fourth-largest city in Iceland and is often referred to as the Capital of the North due to its location and importance to the region. Nestled on the shores of Eyjafjörður, Iceland's longest fjord, the town enjoys a spectacular setting beneath snow-capped mountain peaks, with the Glerá River flowing through its heart.

The earliest records of settlement in the area date back to the 9th century. However, it was not until the 18th century that Akureyri began to develop into an important commercial center, thanks to its harbor and proximity to rich fishing grounds. Today, it is Iceland's second-largest port and serves as a major hub for the country's fishing industry, as well as for cruise ships and cargo transport.

Drivers traveling along Route 1, also known as the Ring Road, will pass directly through the center of Akureyri. From there, several side roads branch off toward the harbor, industrial areas, and local food-processing facilities. In the port district, truckers can deliver cargo to a marine logistics center, a shipyard, and an electronics manufacturing depot.

One of Akureyri's most recognizable landmarks is Akureyrarkirkja, a striking church designed in 1940 by Guðjón Samúelsson, the architect behind Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík, Iceland's most famous church.

Players will also recognize a number of other landmarks inspired by their real-world counterparts, including the Hof Cultural and Conference Centre on the waterfront and the Akureyri Art Museum, with its famous colorful pavement leading to its entrance. The town is also a great spot for whale watching tours, which is why we've also included the local whale watching center.

We hope you'll fall in love with Akureyri, with its colourful houses and stunning natural surroundings. If you do, you might even buy a garage in town and transform it into your company's northern Iceland branch.

If you are eager to be trucking in this upcoming map expansion, don't forget to support us by adding the Iceland DLC to your Steam wishlist.

Also, remember to give our X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok a follow as you'll receive updates not only about Iceland, but also other news from our games straight to your feed. Or subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed. Until next time, safe travels!

We're excited to announce that the 1.60 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.

Game Radio

With the 1.60 update, we are introducing Game Radio, a brand-new in-game radio system designed to make every drive feel more immersive and authentic. Rather than just playing music, Game Radio gives you five stations with their own distinct sounds, identities, and moods, each one built to shape the atmosphere of your journey in a different way.

Players can tune into Rust FM, Escape, PUMP IT!, Pop Gear, and Roadio, spanning guitar-driven rock and American roots music to electronic, pop, and lo-fi. Each station features carefully curated tracks, handpicked to hold up across many hours on the road. Escape is also a radio station designed to help content creators, and we are committed to doing our best to keep it stream-safe.

Game Radio also introduces a new in-game widget displaying station info, track titles, and artist names while driving. Players can customize widget behavior through the Widget Options menu (F6). This update also brings a range of improvements to the existing radio and music player systems.

Game Radio arrives with its musical foundation in place, with more planned for future updates. You can find out more information about Game Radio in our dedicated blog post.

Improved Material System

Light Tweaks

We have carried out minor adjustments to the global lighting, primarily focused on exposure and contrast balancing, along with subtle visual refinements for bad weather conditions. The work mainly consisted of smoothing out and polishing the overall visuals to achieve a more consistent and refined look.

Players' Company Paint Jobs

Players are now able to customize their trucks and trailers with a brand-new collection of company-themed paint jobs inspired by the selectable company identities available when creating a driver profile. These designs bring a more cohesive and professional visual style to your fleet while fitting naturally into the world of ATS.

One of the biggest focuses during development was ensuring that every paint job feels unique, depending on the type of trailer it is applied to. Rather than simply using one design across all trailer models, our teams carefully adapted each company's paint scheme to match the shapes and details of different trailer types. Whether you’re hauling cargo with a tanker, transporting materials in a dumper, or pulling a traditional box trailer, each variant features its own tailored details and layout. You can find out more in our blog here.

Kenworth TourAmerica Paint Jobs

We're also pleased to introduce the TourAmerica paint jobs for the Kenworth W900 and Kenworth T680 2022 as free content for all players. Inspired by the iconic TourAmerica T600 livery from the 1990s, this special design was recently reimagined by Kenworth as part of the Freedom 250 initiative, a nationwide celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the United States and honoring the legacy of American trucking. You can see more in our blog here.

Job Details Widget

Based on feedback from our #BestCommunityEver and upcoming widget designs, the Job Details Widget is introduced with the 1.60 update. Its primary purpose is to enable a new, more immediate, and concise way of displaying the relevant job info. Also, in response to community feedback, the GPS now displays the estimated arrival day and time, along with the remaining travel time and distance.

You can enable the Job Details Widget through the Widget Options menu (F6). The widget displays key job information, including cargo type and weight, delivery location, job income (colour-highlighted), and the remaining time to complete the job, so players will have this info available immediately without the necessity to pause the game. You can read more about the feature here.

Expanded Rest Mechanic

This new feature gives players greater control over their rest periods by allowing them to choose how long they want to sleep and exactly when they want to wake up, instead of being limited to a predefined rest duration.

Alongside this change, the Fatigue system is now split into two separate values: Rest State and Mandatory Break, each represented by its own icon in the UI.

The Rest State, symbolised by a bed icon, now gradually depletes rather than recovers over time. Extended periods of driving will steadily reduce the Rest State, while resting will restore it at a faster rate.

The Mandatory Break system, indicated by a "P" icon along with the remaining hours before a required stop, functions more strictly. In American Truck Simulator, drivers can stay on the road for up to 14 hours before they must take a mandatory break, requiring 10 consecutive hours of rest afterward. You can read more about this feature here.

Changelog:

Vehicles

• Players' Company Paint Jobs
• Kenworth TourAmerica Paint Jobs

Visual

• Improved Material System
• Light Tweaks

Sound

• Game Radio

UI/UX

• Job Details Widget
• Expanded Rest Mechanic

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

A new SCS On The Road episode has just arrived! Buckle up and join us as we take you along for the amazing Volvo Days: Influencer Day event, where we were invited by Volvo Construction Equipment.

After the last one two years ago, Volvo CE once again hosted its well-known Volvo Days event at their Customer Center in Eskilstuna, Sweden, showcasing its latest products to customers and the public.

This year, Volvo invited us to attend the event and also approached us to help connect them with content creators from our community to take part in the Influencer Day, held on May 28. Together, we joined fellow influencers such as Gamekeepers_cz, TheNorthernAlex, Polmanzan, Iwona Blecharczyk, and others for a day that began with an amazing machine show and continued with hands-on experience operating Volvo CE equipment and Volvo trucks. Now, let's watch the episode!

We would like to extend a huge thank you to Volvo Construction Equipment and their staff for inviting us to this incredible event, providing great hospitality, and giving us the opportunity to experience their vast product line hands-on! You can find more information about the Volvo Days event here.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to show your appreciation by following Volvo CE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn.

And if you would like to transport some Volvo CE machines in our games, you can check out the Volvo Construction Equipment DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2 here, and for American Truck Simulator here.

Also, don't forget to stay connected with all the latest news and upcoming episodes by following us on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, and YouTube, or by subscribing to our newsletter. Until next time, happy haulin'!

Two weeks ago, we had the pleasure of opening our doors to the public as part of the Open House Praha Festival, welcoming visitors to our headquarters in Prague. As a festival dedicated to architecture, urbanism, and exceptional spaces that are not normally accessible to the public, Open House Praha offers a unique opportunity to explore some of the city's most interesting buildings and interiors.

As the first tenant of the Roztyly Plaza office building in Chodov, awarded Building of the Year 2024, we were proud to take part in this event and share our workplace with visitors. Throughout the weekend, guests joined guided tours across our offices, discovering not only where we create our games but also the architectural and technological solutions that make this space unique.

Designed by Studio Perspektiv, our offices span several floors and are built around the concept of an adventurous journey through a microworld where nature and technology intertwine. During the tours, visitors learnt more about the architectural vision behind the interior design, as well as the technical aspects of the workspace, including its acoustic design, ventilation systems, and the solutions implemented to create a comfortable and inspiring environment for our teams.

Guests were also able to explore many of the facilities available to employees, including the fitness center, rooms dedicated to massages and meditation, spaces for board games, and even our own movie theater. One of the most striking features of the interior is the monumental red staircase known as Diamant, which connects all three floors of the company and serves as a central architectural element of the space.

Alongside the architectural and technical aspects of the offices, we were happy to share more about SCS Software, our projects, and the work that takes place within these spaces every day. It was a pleasure to meet so many visitors, answer their questions, and showcase the environment where our teams collaborate and create.

A big thank you goes out to everyone who stopped by, as well as to the organizers of Open House Praha for making this event possible. We truly enjoyed welcoming you to our offices and sharing this experience with you.

If you weren't able to visit us during Open House Praha, or would simply like to take another look around, you can explore our offices virtually through Google Street View.

Make sure to follow us on our social media channels X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, YouTube, or subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss any news or behind-the-scenes.

Expanding American Truck Simulator into Canada is much more than just adding new roads and cities. As our teams work on bringing British Columbia, our first Canadian province to ATS, a lot of work is taking place behind the scenes to ensure it feels authentic and recognizable.

From unique architecture and roadside infrastructure to region-specific environmental details, creating a believable Canadian setting requires a lot of effort. To learn more about the process, we spoke with Wety, one of our Map Designer on the British Columbia DLC, who is responsible for coordinating many of the generic assets that will help bring the province to life.

Could you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a little about your role on the British Columbia DLC?

"Hi! I'm Wety, and I've been working as a Map Designer on Davido's team for the past five years. I joined SCS as a junior map designer with no previous experience in game development, but with a huge passion for video games. I've loved games ever since I was a kid playing DooM on a 486 PC. 

Alongside building parts of the map itself, many designers also take on additional responsibilities. Some focus on vegetation and biomes, while others specialize in roads and intersections. My area of responsibility is generic assets, which means helping identify, plan, and coordinate the assets that will be used throughout a DLC."


For players who may not be familiar with the term, what exactly are generic assets?

"In game development, assets are essentially everything the game is made from. Buildings, roads, vehicles, trees, sound effects, animations, and much more all fall under that category. Generic assets are assets that can be reused multiple times across different locations. Things like houses, small stores, power lines, trash bins, and countless other environmental details. Their purpose is to reduce development time while still creating a believable world. If every object in the game had to be unique, it would take an incredibly long time to build a map of this scale."


British Columbia is our first Canadian province in American Truck Simulator. From your perspective, what are some of the biggest visual differences between Canada and the United States that players will notice?

"One of the first things that stood out to me is how much the landscape is dominated by mountains. In British Columbia, it often feels like you're constantly surrounded by them. While there are mountainous regions in the United States as well, the areas I worked on previously didn't have quite the same feeling.

The southern part of the province still has some similarities to the American landscapes players may be familiar with, but further north and inland, the scenery becomes distinctly Canadian. Another thing I noticed is how bike-friendly many Canadian communities are. Dedicated bicycle lanes and cycling infrastructure are everywhere, and they quickly become a recognizable part of the environment."

How many new generic assets are being created specifically for British Columbia?

"Players will encounter around 130 new models throughout cities and rural areas, along with roughly 40 additional assets created specifically for depots and ferry terminals. We're also introducing several decorative Canadian-themed brands to help strengthen the province's identity, with around 14 new brands planned alongside numerous smaller advertisements and environmental details."


How does the creation process work, and how do you decide which assets should be made?

"The process starts with our Research Team. They travel through the region and identify things that appear frequently enough to justify creating dedicated assets for them. After that, I review the list together with other map designers and the DLC Lead. At this stage, we already need a fairly good idea of how the map will look so we can prioritize assets that will actually be used. 

We also check whether similar assets already exist from previous DLCs and can be reused. Once we've decided what needs to be created, we prepare documentation for our Asset Team. This includes reference photos, approximate dimensions, colour variations, and other important details. Then our talented 3D artists work their magic. Afterwards, we review the finished assets, provide any necessary feedback, and once everything looks right, they're ready to be placed in the map."

How closely do you work with the Asset Team throughout development?

"Ideally, not too much! That might sound strange, but it usually means everything is progressing smoothly. Once the initial documentation is prepared, the Asset Team generally has everything they need. Of course, questions still come up from time to time. Sometimes they need clarification on a specific detail, and occasionally we realize we've overlooked something and request additional assets later in development. It's very much a collaborative process."


Can you share a few examples of new assets that really help capture the character of British Columbia?

"One of my favourite examples is the Canadian bear-resistant trash bins you'll find throughout the province. They're designed so people can open them easily, but bears cannot. They're a small detail, but they instantly help establish a sense of place. Another great example would be the dry toilets commonly found at rest areas and recreational sites.

They're surprisingly distinctive and appear throughout British Columbia. I also really like some of the new residential houses we've created. Many feature steeply sloped roofs designed to prevent heavy snowfall from accumulating during winter. It's a practical design choice that immediately gives the architecture a distinctly Canadian feel."


You had the opportunity to visit British Columbia for research. What were some of your biggest takeaways from seeing the province in person?

"What impressed me most was how much nature dictates everything. In many parts of the United States, towns and roads can spread across relatively flat terrain, making straight roads and grid-like layouts common. British Columbia is very different. Roads often follow rivers, valleys, and mountain passes because that's simply where the terrain allows them to exist. As a result, roads constantly rise, fall, twist, and turn. It creates some incredible scenery, but it also makes recreating the region much more challenging from a map-building perspective."


Were there any locations, towns, or details that immediately stood out to you?

"My favourite place we visited was Whistler. Many people know it as the mountain resort that hosted events during the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, but it's also simply a beautiful place surrounded by spectacular mountains and forests. The entire area has a unique atmosphere, and it's easy to see why it's such a popular destination. It was memorable for another reason too, I ended up buying a hat there after accidentally sunburning my bald head while we were in Vancouver!"

How important is real-world research when creating assets and making a region feel authentic?

"It gives you perspective. A lot of details that you see in photos or videos don't seem significant at first. But then you're there, trying to get rid of some trash, and you find one of these anti-bear trash bins that resists your attempts to open it. Then you realize why, and it all makes sense. Suddenly, you know those big boys are in the forests around you."

Or you have to almost get hit and yelled at by a cyclist on a sidewalk to realise that those lines are for bicycles, and that people take them there seriously. And all those mountains you can see in pictures? In real life, they're way bigger than you can even imagine.


When players first hit the road in British Columbia, what details should they keep an eye out for?

"Beyond the obvious road-related additions such as new crash barriers, reflective posts, and road markings, players should pay attention to the architecture and agricultural areas. You'll encounter new apartment buildings and residential neighbourhoods inspired by the suburbs surrounding Vancouver, as well as large fruit farms complete with distinctive farmhouses and hacienda-style buildings. 

Players may also spot wind machines used to protect crops from freezing temperatures, a detail commonly found in orchard regions. Another familiar sight making a return with a new look are the towering grain elevators that stand as landmarks across the landscape. One of these will be located very close to the border and should be easy to spot during your travels. And of course, don't forget to watch for the large 'Welcome to British Columbia' signs when entering the province." 

Finally, what are you most excited for players to experience when they explore British Columbia for the first time?

"More than anything, I hope players enjoy it. We can spend countless hours researching, building, and refining every detail, but ultimately what matters most is whether players have fun driving through the world we've created. So I simply hope everyone has a great time truckin' through British Columbia."


We'd like to thank Wety for taking the time to share the work that goes into creating the assets that help define a region's identity. We hope you've enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at the process and perhaps learned a thing or two along the way! If you'd like to see more articles like this, be sure to leave a comment and let us know what other topics you'd like us to explore.

We look forward to sharing more from the British Columbia DLC in the future. If you're excited for this new region, be sure to add it to your Steam Wishlist! Until then, keep on truckin'!

Our #BestCommunityEver, today we'd like to share with you an early look at a feature currently in development for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, known internally as the Multi-Function Display (MFD).

As many of you know, over the years, both games have continued to grow with new systems, gameplay features, assists, vehicle options, and controls. While this has allowed players to tailor their experience in a variety of ways, it has also gradually increased the amount of information, shortcuts, and menus players need to manage on the road.

With the MFD, our goal is to create a more unified and intuitive way to access vehicle functions directly in-game, without needing to interrupt your experience or remember dozens of key-binds.

Introducing the Multi-Function Display

The MFD is an in-game interface accessible from both interior and exterior camera views. From there, you can quickly navigate through various categories and vehicle systems such as driving assists, lighting controls, vehicle adjustments, media functions, trip information, and more.

One of the main goals of this feature is to reduce interruptions while accessing vehicle systems and information. In most situations, opening the MFD will not pause gameplay, and vehicle controls will remain responsive during interaction.

At the same time, we know usability and minimising distraction are extremely important. So, a lot of our work during prototyping and testing is focused on making sure the system feels quick, readable, and comfortable to use. We’ve also drawn inspiration from modern vehicle interfaces in an effort to create a more believable menu, while still keeping quick access to some of the more abstract gameplay settings for convenience.

Designed Around Accessibility and Discoverability

Another important goal behind this feature is discoverability.

Over time, ETS2 and ATS have accumulated a very large number of functions and controls that many players may never fully discover or use. The MFD is intended to help surface these systems more naturally by presenting available functions together in-context, while also displaying their related key-binds directly within the menu.

This does not mean we expect every player to suddenly change the way they interact with the game overnight. Some players prefer using dedicated key-binds and muscle memory, and those methods will continue to remain important. Instead, we see the MFD as an additional layer that can make operating your vehicle easier and more approachable, especially as both games continue to evolve. 

Different control setups are also something we are carefully considering throughout development. The MFD is being designed to support keyboard, mouse, wheel, and controller users alike, with customisable navigation controls.

Building on Recent Interface Improvements 

The MFD has been part of a vision to improve the overall in-game driving interface and accessibility of vehicle systems for quite some time. At the same time, we know recent interface-related changes have sparked a lot of discussion within the community, and many of your comments and observations have helped shape internal conversations about where improvements can still be made.

This ongoing feedback has already led to several additions to the updated Route Advisor. Since its release, we have introduced a Damage Widget displaying truck, trailer, and cargo condition, a Finances Widget for tracking your company savings and income, and, with 1.60, a Job Info Widget with details about your current delivery, each of which may be individually hidden.

We are also reworking the Quick Info menu to better align with other in-game interfaces and reflect community feedback. Our current direction is focused on creating a simpler layout that does not obstruct the view while still allowing quick access to functions such as the controls layout, widget settings, Photo Mode, and Services and Adjustments. Functions related to Services and Adjustments are also being integrated into the MFD, allowing players to access them from either interface. 

These are relatively small additions on their own, but they're part of a much larger ongoing effort to improve usability, information access, and customisation while driving. We know there is still more work ahead, and we are continuing to explore further improvements and adjustments throughout development.

That is also one of the reasons we wanted to begin sharing this feature earlier in its development process.

Still a Work in Progress 

The MFD is still in active prototyping. While the core direction and functionality are already taking shape, many details may continue to evolve as we conduct further internal testing and gather feedback during later stages of development. 

We are very excited about the possibilities this system opens up, not only for trucks, but eventually for other vehicle types as well.

As always, we look forward to hearing your constructive thoughts once the time comes to put the feature into your hands. Until then, we hope you enjoyed this early look at what is currently being worked on behind the scenes.

Until next time, keep on truckin'.