Community Verdict #2: Does ETS2 really need coaches – or does the truck remain king?

The Simulatoren-News Community Verdict is in session again. Last week, an old bus sim classic stood before the court with OMSI 2. This time, the case gets bigger: it is about Euro Truck Simulator 2 and the question of whether coaches really belong in this game. As always, we put the debate question on the table, collect the arguments, open the vote – but the editorial team does not give the verdict. The judge is you.

For everyone who was not there for the first case: Community Verdict is our new format in which we regularly put big debate questions from the world of simulations on trial. Every Monday at 2 PM, a new case lands on the table. You vote on the website, explain your verdict in the free text field and can of course also discuss it in the comments. Before the weekend, we close the hearing, and at the weekend the evaluation follows. And we do not just look at percentages, but also at your comments, your examples and your reasoning. That is exactly the point: not just a quick poll, but a real mood picture from the community.

The second case fits this pretty well, because hardly any upcoming ETS2 topic is currently causing as much discussion as the Coaches DLC. Important first: the DLC has not been released yet. On Steam, the planned release date is still listed as to be announced, and SCS itself calls it the upcoming Coaches DLC. According to the official page, licensed coaches such as the Scania Touring, the Volvo 9700 DD and the MAN Lion’s Coach are planned. It is also not only supposed to be about new vehicles, but also about coach stations, stops and a new way to use the ETS2 map.

And this is exactly where it gets interesting. Because let’s be honest: simply putting a coach into Euro Truck Simulator 2 and saying “done, now this is new gameplay” would probably not be enough. Coaches work differently from freight. You do not load pallets, you do not drive machines across Europe and you do not bring a refrigerated trailer to its destination. You transport people. For that not to feel like a truck with seats, it needs suitable starting points, believable destinations, stops, coach stations and procedures that feel different from the normal freight routine. SCS itself emphasizes that coach stations and stops are an important part of this new gameplay.

So on one side, there is quite a bit to be said for coaches in ETS2. The map is huge, many roads have been familiar for years, and exactly such a new system could give old regions a new meaning again. Suddenly it would no longer only be the next company yard that matters, but also the next coach station. Familiar cities could get new points of interest, long routes would feel different and ETS2 could open up a second major way to play without directly needing a completely new game. For many bus sim fans, that naturally sounds quite appealing: the same large European map, but not with a semi-truck, with a coach.

On the other side, the skepticism is absolutely understandable. After all, the game is called Euro Truck Simulator 2 – and many people love it exactly for that. Pick up freight, plan the route, drive the miles, deliver, start the next job. This loop has been the core of the game for years. If coaches are added now, the question is: Is SCS expanding ETS2 in a meaningful way – or is the game slowly moving away from what actually made it so strong? Not everyone wants ETS2 to become everything at once someday: truck, coach, road trip, and maybe completely different vehicle types later. Sometimes a game is strong precisely because it knows exactly what it wants to be.

The most interesting position is probably somewhere in the middle. Coaches in ETS2? Yes, but please not half-heartedly. If the Coaches DLC ends up being just a vehicle pack with a few new models, the disappointment will probably be big. But if SCS really integrates coach stations, stops, meaningful routes, suitable procedures and believable infrastructure, it could become more than an experiment. Then the Coaches DLC would not simply be “a truck with passengers”, but a new gameplay area that could actually make ETS2 feel fresher.

At the weekend, things will get serious again: We will close the second case, count your votes and deliver the next verdict together in the Community Verdict. Of course, we will not only look at the raw percentages from the poll, but also very deliberately at your comments, your reasoning and your examples. That is exactly what this format is about: It should not just be a quick vote that is forgotten after two clicks. We want to turn it into a real mood picture of the Simulatoren-News community – with your arguments, your experiences and sometimes maybe even with exactly those comments where you realize: yes, this is something we really need to talk about. Community Verdict is also not meant to remain a one-time test, but will now be held regularly every Monday at 2 PM. Every week a new case, every week your votes, every week a new verdict from the world of simulations – and on the website, this will gradually become its own place for exactly these big community debates.

Now the case is yours. Does ETS2 really need coaches? Is this the logical next step for a game that has long been more than just a classic truck simulator? Or should SCS rather stay with its core business and continue expanding new countries, reworks, trucks and freight systems? Vote in the poll and explain your verdict in the free text field. Your reasoning is especially important, because at the weekend we will take a close look again: Which arguments came up most often? Where is the community split? And will the verdict be clear in the end – or will the case remain more complicated than expected?