Euro Truck Simulator 2

Driver's view from a DAF XF during gameplay.

Players choose their HQ's location in any of the game map's cities. At first, the player can only take what is known as Quick jobs—these jobs involve making hired driver deliveries while employed by a delivery company, with a provided truck and all expenses (fuel, road tolls, ferry crossings) covered. As the player earns money or takes bank loans, they can eventually afford to buy themselves a truck, acquire a home garage, and start accepting better-paying jobs by using their own truck instead of being a driver for hire with gear being supplied. Money earned in the game can be spent on upgrading or purchasing new trucks, hiring NPC drivers to take on deliveries, buying more garages and expanding the home garage to accommodate more trucks and drivers. The skills of the drivers hired by the player also grow with experience and the player can create a huge fleet of the trucks and drivers expanding the business across Europe.

As players progress and earn money, they are also able to purchase their own trailers, which can be fully customized in the same way as trucks. Player-owned trailers can be used to receive and deliver cargo at existing storage locations. Like trucks, trailers can also be allocated to company employees, resulting in higher income.

The player gains experience points after each delivery. A skill point is awarded after each level-up. Skill points can be used to unlock deliveries that require different ADR classes, longer distance deliveries, special cargo loads, fragile cargo loads, deliveries that are urgent and eco-driving. This progression allows the player to take on better-paid jobs.

The base game features 71 cities in twelve countries, over twenty types of cargo and over fifteen fictional European companies. There are six map DLCs that expand the game to more countries and locations, and multiple other truck and trailer DLCs.

The game also features a "Radio" feature, which allows players to play imported MP3 and OGG files. It also allows the player to listen to Internet radio.

The game includes two new truck companies, Scania and Renault, with MAN returning from the original game. Initially, DAF, Iveco, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo trucks were not officially licensed and had their names changed to DAV, Ivedo, Majestic and Valiant respectively. Later updates included the official branding for the DAF XF,[3] Volvo FH, Iveco Stralis,[4] Scania Streamline[5] and Mercedes-Benz Actros.[6] In 2017 the new Scania S and R were introduced.[7] The MAN TGX Euro 6 was added as a playable vehicle on 8 February 2019,[8] followed by the Renault T on 26 September 2019.[9]

Initially released for Windows and available for purchase & download via SCS's own website, the game would eventually be added to Steam in January 2013.[10] Expanding beyond the Windows version, SCS announced in March 2013 that they were developing a Mac version of the game.[11][12] One month later they released a Linux beta version of the game to the public through Steam.[13] On 27 February, they stated "the Mac OS port of ETS 2 is taking longer than anybody would like, but trust us, we are still working hard on it."[14] Finally, on 19 December 2014, they announced on their blog that the OS X version of the game is ready for a public beta available on Steam.[15] On 21 January 2015 a 64-bit version of Euro Truck Simulator 2 was released, which allows for more memory to be used by the game.

In July 2013, a large update was released, fixing various graphical glitches, improving the toll booths and included the ability to switch off the trucks' speed limiter from within the gameplay options.[16]

In October 2013, SCS announced support for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset which became available in the beta 1.9 update released in March 2014.[17][18]

In May 2014, ETS 2 was updated out of beta with patch 1.10.[19] In July 2014, ETS 2 released an open beta of patch 1.11 on Steam. The full patch contains 3 new cities in Austria and Italy, along with an improved layout and UI, a way to adjust your seating in the cabin, and a feature that allows you to sell/trade your garages. In January 2015, ETS 2 was updated with support for 64 bit, and officially released for OS X.[20] On 8 September 2015, SCS Blog announced the completion of 5 years of their blog as well as the upcoming feature in v1.21 (Cabin Accessories DLC).[21]

In February 2019, SCS released Update 1.34 for ETS 2 which added a brand new truck, the MAN TGX Euro 6 and numerous bug fixes.[22]

In June 2019, SCS released Update 1.35 for ETS 2 which added loads more features such as GPS voice navigation, DirectX 11 Experimental Support, Razer Chroma support and various map changes across Europe, with the most predominant changes happening in Germany to the Autobahn system.[23]

In December 2019, SCS released Update 1.36 ETS 2 which added a new French Island Corsica for Vive la France DLC, DX11 full support, Detours, Chinese and other non-Latin character input (IME), Anti-aliasing improvements and more.[24]

The game was generally well received by critics, holding a score of 79/100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[53]

In a review for Destructoid, Jim Sterling praised the game's accessibility, noting how easy the GPS and map features were to use, as well as the option to stream European internet radio, and the multitude of control options available. He also praised the graphics, stating that "[f]rom the shape of the traffic lights to the atmosphere of the backdrops, there's a sense of individuality to each new territory you uncover, and the trucks themselves are lovingly recreated with an intricate level of detail", although he did criticise the AI of the other vehicles on the road.[54]

In a similarly favourable review, Tim Stone of PC Gamer called it "unexpectedly engrossing", praising the size of the map and the variation of the roads and scenery available. He did however have reservations about the accuracy of the surroundings, commenting "no one seems to have told SCS’s countryside crafters that rural Britain features long green things called hedges. Cities are often depicted with the shortest of visual shorthand – a few warehouses, the odd landmark if you’re lucky."[55]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun listed Euro Truck Simulator 2 ninth on their list of "The 25 Best Simulation Games Ever Made".[56]

• Official website