OMSI 2: The Busbetrieb-Simulator becomes permanently free from October 1!

It was announced as early as September 10 that the Busbetrieb-Simulator would switch to a permanently free model on October 1. Just before this date, the information becomes practically relevant: Anyone who does not yet own the add-on and has only just become aware of it can simply wait a few more days.

The most important point here is the word “permanently”. This is not a typical free promotion in which a DLC can be played for free for a weekend or has to be added to the Steam library within a certain period. Following the announced changeover, the Busbetrieb-Simulator is intended to remain generally available for free. So you do not necessarily have to get it right on October 1 either.

However, what becomes free is not OMSI 2 itself. The Busbetrieb-Simulator remains an add-on and requires the base game OMSI 2. Anyone who does not yet own the actual simulator cannot do anything with the free add-on alone.

For existing OMSI players, however, it contains quite a lot of content. The Busbetrieb-Simulator expands the regular trips with a career and an economic system. Instead of simply selecting a map, a bus and a run, you can build your own virtual bus company, earn money and reinvest it in your company. Buses are purchased and managed, depots play a role, and repairs and maintenance work are also part of the system.

In single-player, you can start directly with your own company. This gives your trips more connection with one another: You complete tasks, gain experience and can complete training or exams for routes. The evaluation of a trip also becomes more important because it affects revenue and statistics.

The whole thing becomes even bigger in multiplayer. There, you can join an existing virtual company or build one yourself together with other players. For this purpose, the Busbetrieb-Simulator has a freely walkable 3D depot where players can meet. Companies can employ staff, organize shifts, acquire route licenses and expand their operations.

That is precisely why the Busbetrieb-Simulator is something different from a typical OMSI vehicle DLC. It does not simply provide another bus for your Vehicles folder, but tries to give the individual OMSI trips an overarching purpose. Those who normally simply return to the main menu after completing a round get an operation here to which that trip belongs.

The add-on also comes with a few additional tools. These include a navigation system, a HUD with important information during the trip and working speed cameras, where speeding violations can have consequences. The Busbetrieb-Simulator also has an add-on manager that can be used to install free OMSI maps and buses and check existing expansions for errors.

You therefore do not necessarily have to be interested in multiplayer for the free changeover to be exciting. The career and company aspects alone may be interesting for players who eventually find themselves missing a long-term goal between individual trips in OMSI. Those who only want to select a bus and timetable and then drive their route, on the other hand, naturally do not have to use the system.

For now, only the date is decisive: On Saturday, September 26, the Busbetrieb-Simulator is not free yet. The changeover is explicitly announced for Thursday, October 1, 2026 . If it is still shown as paid on Steam or in the shop by then, you are therefore not seeing an error—the changeover simply has not happened yet.

This means that an add-on available since 2017 is becoming considerably more interesting for OMSI players once again. Those who previously did not want to spend money on an additional career and economic layer can try it from October onward without this hurdle.

Are you already using the Busbetrieb-Simulator—or will you take a first look at it on October 1 as soon as it becomes permanently free?