10 Years Ago It Had 13 Buses – Now More Than 45: How Dramatically Bus Simulator Has Changed Before Bus Simulator 27

Bus Simulator 16 launched on March 2, 2016 for PC. The basic concept already sounds familiar today: take over routes, transport passengers and build your own bus company. The scale was very different, however. Steam describes the game as featuring 13 buses and five distinctive city districts, with recognised manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz and MAN. Further vehicles followed through expansions, including various Mercedes-Benz Citaro and MAN Lion's City models. It looks relatively modest today, but this was the beginning of the modern Bus Simulator line that would ultimately lead to Bus Simulator 27.

Just over two years later, Bus Simulator 18 arrived on June 13, 2018, and represented a major technical break. The series switched to Unreal Engine 4, while Seaside Valley became a much larger freely drivable environment with twelve districts. Eight detailed licensed buses from Mercedes-Benz, Setra, MAN and IVECO BUS were included at launch. That was actually a lower headline vehicle count than Bus Simulator 16, but the individual vehicles, cockpits and systems became considerably more detailed. Management expanded, traffic events, weather and night driving became more prominent, Steam Workshop modding arrived and up to four players could drive together in real-time multiplayer.

Bus Simulator 18 also became the game that finally pushed the series beyond PC. A console version followed for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2019, marking the franchise's console debut according to astragon's own history of the series.

Then Bus Simulator 21 launched on September 7, 2021 and expanded the concept once again. Rather than having only one environment, players received the new American-inspired Angel Shores map alongside a revamped Seaside Valley from Bus Simulator 18. Today's Next Stop version features around 30 officially licensed buses from international manufacturers, with double-deckers and electric buses appearing for the first time. Management became deeper through detailed timetables, buying and selling buses and route planning, while automation options allowed players who mainly wanted to drive to leave much of the office work behind. In 2023, the huge free Next Stop update added a new career mode and was accompanied by a free map extension. Later paid expansions pushed the definition of Bus Simulator even further by introducing school buses and, remarkably, drivable and manageable trams.

Now the series is about to make another major break. Bus Simulator 27 launches on September 8, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. This time, even the studio behind the game has changed. Bus Simulator 16, 18 and 21 were created by stillalive studios, while Bus Simulator 27 is being developed by Polish studio Simteract. The technology changes again as well, with the new game moving to Unreal Engine 5. That makes Bus Simulator 27 especially interesting: this is not simply the same team making its previous game larger, but a new developer taking over a formula that has evolved for an entire decade.

The numbers already demonstrate how large the series has become. Bus Simulator 27 promises more than 45 officially licensed buses from 13 manufacturers, making it the biggest fleet in franchise history so far. Confirmed brands include Solaris, Mercedes-Benz, MAN, IVECO BUS, Scania and Volvo. Alongside rigid buses, articulated vehicles, double-deckers and electric buses comes a major first for the main series: licensed coaches and long-distance journeys.

The setting changes dramatically too. Instead of another clearly German or American-inspired environment, Bus Simulator 27 takes us to Felicia Bay, a fictional southern European region inspired by Spain and Portugal. Its two cities, Alcaztelar and Mequina, contain a total of 20 districts, surrounded by a wider landscape. Dynamic weather and a complete day-night cycle are designed to keep the world changing, while Unreal Engine 5 promises the largest visual leap in the series so far. The comparison with 2016 is striking: five districts then, 20 across two cities and the surrounding region now.

Bus Simulator 27 also appears determined to make us more than simply drivers. We can still create routes, manage timetables, hire drivers, assign lines and operate a bus company, but this time players can also become ticket inspectors or passengers. We can leave the bus, explore Felicia Bay on foot and search for points of interest and collectibles. Story, Career and Sandbox modes offer different approaches to progression, while up to four players can work together online with full crossplay. PC players will additionally receive mod.io support.

Reduce ten years of development to a few numbers and the difference becomes remarkable. 2016: 13 buses, five districts and PC. 2018: Unreal Engine 4, twelve districts, multiplayer and modding. 2021: two maps, around 30 buses, electric vehicles and double-deckers plus much deeper management. 2026: Unreal Engine 5, more than 45 buses from 13 manufacturers, two cities with 20 districts, coaches, crossplay and multiple playable roles. It has not been a simple straight line where every individual number increased with every sequel. What has changed dramatically is the ambition: a relatively compact city-bus game has gradually become a much broader public-transport sandbox.

And this time we will be able to examine the next step ourselves before release. Bus Simulator 27 is heading to gamescom 2026 at astragon's booth in Hall 6, B-060. The official gamescom listing goes even further and confirms that visitors will be able to try Bus Simulator 27 for the first time using a Thrustmaster T248 steering wheel. Gamescom ends on August 30, and the finished game launches only nine days later on September 8 – making Cologne one of the final major opportunities to see it before release.

That also means we will be paying very close attention in Cologne. How large does Felicia Bay actually feel? What is the driving model like? Is the move to Unreal Engine 5 immediately visible? How convincing are passengers and traffic? How different do the buses feel? And most importantly: does Bus Simulator 27 genuinely feel like the next generation – or is there still a lot of Bus Simulator 21 underneath the new presentation?

Our first impressions, pictures and news will go directly into our gamescom live ticker and the new Simulatoren-News viewer app during the event. If Bus Simulator 27 is one of the games you are waiting for, you can enable the relevant notifications there rather than waiting for our later full article.

👉 Follow our gamescom live ticker: https://simulatoren-news.com/gamescom-liveticker/

And now for the nostalgia test: Which game did you start with – Bus Simulator 16, 18 or 21? Which one has been your favourite so far? Does the jump from 13 buses back then to more than 45 today genuinely impress you? And what does Bus Simulator 27 need to do better on September 8 for it to feel like a true new generation rather than simply a prettier Bus Simulator 21?