ATS Is Becoming an Exploration Game: SCS Shows Atlas in Detailed Gameplay for the First Time

On 14 August 2026, SCS Software released a dedicated Atlas Feature Video Trailer for American Truck Simulator. The video shows the interface and flow of the new exploration system, which is due to arrive alongside the upcoming Road Trip module. Atlas is not a standalone game within ATS, but it adds a connected collection and discovery layer to a game world previously centred on freight jobs and road exploration.

SCS originally introduced the feature on 7 August. The new trailer now makes it clear how individual sights become a complete tour. Atlas is opened through the in-game desktop under the Navigation tab. Tourist Boards distributed across the map sit at the centre of the system.

When we select one of these Tourist Boards in the Atlas interface, the game creates a route in the GPS. The associated exploration locations in the region are only revealed once we have reached the board itself. We will therefore not immediately receive a completely filled map, but unlock each tour through its local starting point.

Every Tourist Board connects three types of objectives: Points of Interest, Viewpoints and Photo Trophies. To complete the board, we must visit every location associated with it. Atlas therefore takes two elements already familiar from ATS and combines them with a new form of discovery.

Points of Interest work in the most straightforward way. According to the detailed official Atlas introduction, we will not need to stop or activate a special trigger. Simply driving our vehicle through the marked area is enough for the location to count as explored.

Every discovered Point of Interest unlocks a short description containing information about the place. A new on-screen widget reports the discovery, accompanied by a brief sound effect. Players who do not want this notification can disable it in the widget settings.

Explored Points of Interest can later be opened again through Atlas or the Gallery. The game then shows a live camera feed of the location. If our vehicle is currently parked in the area, it will also be visible in this view. Atlas is therefore not merely a list of completed symbols, but also serves as a digital album of our journeys.

Many ATS players will already be familiar with Viewpoints and Photo Trophies. Viewpoints start staged camera sequences showing landscapes, cities or notable structures. Photo Trophies require a matching photograph. Atlas now assigns these previously more isolated activities to a Tourist Board and therefore to a specific regional exploration tour.

Once we have found every objective associated with a board, the complete tour is marked as finished. The reward is a postcard with an individual design inspired by that region. It can then be displayed on our vehicle’s dashboard. In the Atlas interface, we can review the places we have visited, read their descriptions and replay unlocked camera sequences.

At launch, Atlas is planned to support Tourist Boards in California and in the Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota map DLCs. California is part of the base map, while each of the other listed states requires its corresponding expansion. South Dakota is currently still in development. SCS plans to extend Atlas gradually to the remaining ATS states later. The developer has not yet said how quickly this expansion will happen or how many boards each region will receive.

One important restriction concerns access. Atlas will not automatically be unlocked for every owner of the base game. We will need at least one Road Trip DLC. SCS currently names the Ford Car Pack and the RAM & Dodge Car Pack as the available options. Owning one of these vehicle packs will unlock the Road Trip module and therefore Atlas.

However, that does not restrict exploration to the new passenger cars and pick-ups. SCS explicitly confirms that Atlas can also be used while driving a truck. Players who want to continue driving trucks exclusively can therefore still complete Tourist Boards, Points of Interest and the other objectives – but according to the current information, they will require one of the Road Trip packs for access.

SCS still has not announced a release date or price for either vehicle pack. Both can currently only be added to Steam wishlists. The final number of Tourist Boards and exploration objectives available at launch also remains unknown. The trailer therefore shows a system in development, not a feature that is already available in ATS.

Nevertheless, the direction is clear: Until now, discovering the map has often been a side effect of our deliveries. Atlas turns it into a separate loop with a starting point, GPS guidance, several types of objectives, progress tracking and a reward. We can take the tour in a car or deliberately plan our next freight job so that our truck passes a missing Point of Interest. That is the real change: The map is no longer only the connection between two companies, but an objective in itself.

Whether Atlas remains engaging in the long term will therefore depend less on the postcard on the dashboard than on the selected locations. Famous landmarks alone could quickly become a checklist. Well-placed secondary roads, overlooked scenery and genuinely surprising destinations, on the other hand, would give us a concrete reason to return to old ATS regions even after many hours of play.