SCS Software took the formula that made Euro Truck Simulator 2 a surprise hit and transplanted it to the American highway system, and the transition works beautifully. American Truck Simulator captures something essential about the romance of long-haul trucking in the United States: the endless desert highways, the massive scale of the western landscape, and the distinctly American character of interstate driving. The wider lanes, heavier trucks, and vast open spaces create an experience that feels genuinely different from its European counterpart rather than a simple reskin.
The player base overlaps heavily with ETS2’s community, and the general sentiment is that American Truck Simulator is the more visually dramatic of the two but not yet as content-rich. The game has been steadily growing through map DLC since launch, and each expansion brings it closer to matching its older sibling’s breadth.
Coast to Coast, Mile by Mile
The American landscape provides a visual canvas that the European setting can’t match in terms of raw scale. Desert highways stretching to distant mountains, redwood forests towering over the road, agricultural heartland rolling past for miles, all of it creates a sense of vastness that suits the trucking fantasy perfectly. SCS has improved their art quality significantly since the base game’s initial two-state release, and newer DLC states look substantially better than the original California and Nevada maps.
The trucks themselves feel appropriately different from their European counterparts. American conventional cab trucks, with the engine sitting in front of the driver rather than underneath, handle differently and look different enough to make the experience feel fresh for ETS2 veterans. The Peterbilt and Kenworth models in particular have been modeled with clear affection, and the cab interiors are detailed enough to make first-person driving immersive.
The business management layer carries over from ETS2 with minimal changes, which is fine because it works. Building a fleet of trucks, hiring drivers, and expanding your garage network across states provides the same satisfying long-term progression. The American setting adds flavor through state-specific cargo types and delivery challenges.
Sound design across both SCS trucking games is excellent, and ATS is no exception. Engine sounds vary convincingly between truck models, road surfaces change the tire noise, and the ambient sounds of wind, rain, and traffic create an audio landscape that enhances the feeling of genuine travel. The radio station streaming feature adds real American stations, which grounds the experience further.
The modding community is active and creative, though smaller than ETS2’s. Custom trucks, map connections, trailer types, and graphical improvements are readily available. Coast to Coast and similar community map projects expand the drivable area significantly beyond official DLC coverage.
Still Building the Interstate
The map coverage remains the game’s most significant limitation. The western and central United States are well-represented through years of DLC expansion, but the eastern seaboard and southeastern states are still absent. Building a continental trucking empire feels incomplete when significant portions of the country aren’t accessible. Each DLC expansion is high quality, but the pace of development means full US coverage is still years away.
The base game, with only California and Nevada, feels thin without additional DLC purchases. The total investment to access all available states adds up to a substantial sum, and new players face the same content cost question that ETS2 presents. The individual DLCs are fairly priced, but the aggregate cost of the complete experience is notable.
The traffic AI suffers from the same issues that plague ETS2. Vehicles make questionable decisions, and the occasional unavoidable collision caused by AI behavior remains frustrating after years of updates. The problem is more noticeable on American highways, where the wider roads and higher speeds make AI erratic behavior more impactful.
Visual quality in the base game’s original states hasn’t been fully brought up to the standard set by newer DLC. California and Nevada, while reworked from their initial release state, still show their age compared to states built with the team’s more recent tools and techniques. SCS has been gradually revisiting older content, but the disparity is noticeable when driving between old and new regions.
The American Dream, One Mile at a Time
American Truck Simulator captures a specific kind of American romance, the open road stretching ahead, the sun setting behind distant mountains, the solitary freedom of the highway. It’s not an adrenaline experience. It’s a breathing exercise disguised as a game. The American setting amplifies the meditative quality that makes this style of simulation work, because the United States was built around the automobile, and its highways reflect that in ways that European roads don’t.
Should You Play American Truck Simulator?
Players who enjoyed Euro Truck Simulator 2 and want a new landscape will find the American setting fresh and appealing. Newcomers to the series will find a more visually dramatic starting point, though ETS2 offers more total content. If you need action, competition, or rapid stimulation, trucking sims aren’t your genre. But if the idea of a quiet drive through the American West with your favorite music sounds like a good evening, this game delivers that experience with surprising depth.
The Verdict on American Truck Simulator
American Truck Simulator takes SCS Software’s proven formula and drops it into a landscape that amplifies everything the genre does well. The scale of the American West, the character of its highways, and the satisfaction of piloting a full-size rig through varied terrain create an experience that stands alongside its European counterpart. The incomplete map, DLC cost accumulation, and AI traffic issues are genuine drawbacks that prevent it from surpassing ETS2 in overall value. But the game grows with every expansion, and each new state brings it closer to realizing the full potential of a virtual American road trip.