Euro Truck Simulator 2: Why IJmuiden has become more exciting again since the Benelux rework!

Yes — the Benelux rework has long since been released. It arrived with ETS2 Update 1.59 on May 6, 2026. Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were completely rebuilt in the process. IJmuiden is therefore no longer “planned” or “upcoming”, but already playable. SCS Software Blog

And that is precisely why the article now needs to be worded differently: as a retrospective/feature on an already existing map location, not as a preview. The original April article was still a work in progress, but the release status is now clear. SCS Software Blog

Title variants

Euro Truck Simulator 2: Why IJmuiden has become more exciting again since the Benelux rework

From the Netherlands to Great Britain: This ferry in ETS2 is worth using again

IJmuiden in Euro Truck Simulator 2: The underrated connection to Great Britain

Introduction

Update 1.59 fully released the Benelux rework on May 6, 2026. Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were rebuilt from the ground up and brought up to Euro Truck Simulator 2’s current map standard. Alongside familiar cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg City, new locations, roads and industrial areas were also created.

One of the smaller but interesting areas from a gameplay perspective is IJmuiden west of Amsterdam. The town was already present on the old map and primarily served one purpose there: the ferry connection between the Netherlands and Great Britain.

With the rework, IJmuiden was not rebuilt on the same scale as Amsterdam, but it was modernized significantly. SCS Software revised the ferry area and its surroundings so that the location would fit the quality of the rest of the new Benelux map better.

This is particularly noticeable because Amsterdam has now been completely rebuilt. If you drive from there towards the coast, you no longer suddenly end up in a visibly older section of the map, but remain within a much more consistently designed region.

However, IJmuiden’s most important function has remained unchanged: From here, you can take a ferry to Great Britain. For longer journeys, the port therefore offers an alternative to the familiar more southerly crossings between mainland Europe and the United Kingdom.

This connection can be interesting especially for players coming from the Netherlands, northern Germany or regions farther east. Instead of first driving a long way south, Great Britain can be reached directly from the Dutch coast.

As part of the rework, it was not only the actual ferry area that was modernized. A petrol station near IJmuiden was also renewed. Such smaller details are quite relevant to the driving experience, because they ensure that the route to the port no longer feels like merely a transition between two points on the map.

However, IJmuiden becomes particularly exciting when looking to the future. SCS Software is working in parallel on the major UK rework, in which Great Britain will be rebuilt practically in its entirety. That is precisely why the team had already emphasized during development of the Benelux rework that it hoped the connection via IJmuiden would be used more frequently in the future.

That makes perfect sense. At the moment, the other side of the ferry still partly meets a significantly older British map, while the Benelux has already been modernized. Once Great Britain has also been brought up to the current standard, the entire connection could feel considerably more homogeneous.

Then a journey from Amsterdam via IJmuiden to Great Britain would no longer be a trip between two map generations of different ages, but a connection between two completely rebuilt regions.

That is precisely where the appeal of such rather inconspicuous map locations lies. Large cities like Rotterdam or Amsterdam immediately stand out because entire road networks have been redesigned there. A port like IJmuiden, on the other hand, influences route planning more subtly and may only become noticeable when you deliberately try a different connection to Great Britain.

The fact that SCS also reworks such transitions is at least as important to the quality of the overall map as new landmarks. After all, Euro Truck Simulator 2 thrives on long journeys through several countries feeling as cohesive as possible.

Since May 2026, IJmuiden has therefore long ceased to be a future rework target and is already part of the new Benelux map. The location remains interesting nonetheless—perhaps even more so than before. Because once the UK rework is eventually released, this very ferry is likely to connect two completely modernized regions.

Do you already regularly use IJmuiden for journeys to Great Britain—or do you usually travel via Calais, Rotterdam or other connections?