ATS

For several days now, four vehicles have suddenly been sitting in the American Truck Simulator garage that have rather little in common with classic tractor-trailers. The Ford package for Road Trip ranges from the 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback through the modern F-150 and Bronco to the almost cinematic Crown Victoria. All four drive through the same ATS world, but their designs alone appeal to very different players. So which of the four Fords best suits the way you want to play Road Trip?

Since September 29, Road Trip in American Truck Simulator has allowed you not only to freely drive across the USA, but also to take on smaller jobs. It's not enough simply to bring any package from A to B: Customers pay attention to your time management, the condition of the vehicle and how carefully you handle the cargo. Even arriving at the destination too early can already have a negative impact. So how exactly do these new customer jobs work—and what do you need to keep in mind if you want to improve your rating?

Since yesterday, we have been able to leave the truck parked and go on a tour with our own car in American Truck Simulator for the first time. However, anyone who buys the new Road Trip: Ford DLC does not simply get their Mustang, Bronco or F-150 automatically placed in the garage. Between buying the DLC and taking your first drive in your own car, there is still a new system consisting of the Car Dealer, vehicle purchase and your own car garage. So exactly how does the journey from the unlocked Car Pack to the car you actually own work?

American Truck Simulator is growing by another state today: The South Dakota DLC releases on September 24 and takes us through 13 new cities, the Badlands, the Black Hills and past Mount Rushmore. But will there also be enough work for our trucking companies among the major sights?

American Truck Simulator is actually getting an official date for cars: On September 29, 2026, SCS Software will release the “Road Trip: Ford” DLC, thereby unlocking the new road-trip gameplay module. Instead of sitting exclusively behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer, we will then be able to drive through the USA in four licensed Ford models, take on smaller delivery jobs, and discover landmarks.

Is this still a meaningful expansion of American Truck Simulator—or is SCS moving too far away from its actual name?

American Truck Simulator has taken the first step: Update 1.61 is no longer available only as a test version, but has been fully released by SCS Software. In addition to easier map exploration, the game already contains preparations for Road Trip and the upcoming South Dakota DLC. Does this release mean that Euro Truck Simulator 2, and thus the next stage toward Iceland, will follow shortly?

Rolling over some tiny parking lot one more time for the last 0.1 percent of the map? SCS is now tackling exactly this familiar problem with Update 1.61. The Open Beta has started in American Truck Simulator – and part of the technology explicitly also affects Euro Truck Simulator 2!

Cars in American Truck Simulator initially sound like a pleasant diversion for players who want to travel across the United States without a trailer and enjoy the scenery. After our hands-on at Gamescom, however, one thing is clear: SCS Software does not want Road Trip to be limited to a leisure drive through the existing world. We were even able to earn money with the cars, transport small shipments and experience how closely the new area is connected to our existing trucking company. Is that already enough to make Road Trip feel like a genuine second way to play?

We drive through a narrow tunnel in the Black Hills, and four enormous faces appear in the rock precisely beyond the exit. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln will rise above our route in the upcoming South Dakota DLC. Mount Rushmore is therefore not merely a distant background model but a deliberately staged moment on the road.

SCS Software presented the landmark in detail on August 18 at 5:00 PM CEST. Alongside the monument, the team is recreating the small Western town of Keystone, US-16 Mount Rushmore Road and the winding US-16A Iron Mountain Road. A release date for the expansion remains unannounced.

In American Truck Simulator, we normally drive to a job, deliver our cargo and then look for the next journey. Atlas gives the open game world a second objective: We will search for Tourist Boards, explore entire regions and unlock special postcards. On 14 August, SCS showed the system in detail for the first time in a dedicated feature trailer. Is the truck simulator now genuinely becoming an exploration game as well?

A historic Wild West town, winding mountain roads and bison right beside the carriageway: The South Dakota DLC for American Truck Simulator is intended to offer considerably more than open fields and long interstates. In a new preview, SCS Software provides its first extensive look at how the Black Hills in the western part of the state are being recreated. Could this region become the scenic highlight of the expansion?

South Dakota is still in development, but SCS has already opened the next major map construction site in the northern United States: North Dakota is officially coming to American Truck Simulator. With Fargo, Bismarck, oil fields and roads reaching close to the Canadian border, the developer has already named a surprising amount of content. How far has planning for this new state already progressed?

A wind turbine factory, quarry, food processing plant and six additional delivery locations: Sioux Falls is intended to become much more than a city we simply drive through in the South Dakota DLC. SCS Software has provided the first detailed look at how the state’s largest city is being recreated in American Truck Simulator, including Falls Park, its historic downtown and an unusual battleship memorial.

No new map, no additional truck and no major cargo collection – yet these four mods have collected more than three million downloads or subscriptions together. The most successful American Truck Simulator extensions instead change things that accompany us during almost every journey: our cabin, the businesses beside the road, all vehicle lights and the complete soundscape.

When American Truck Simulator was released in February 2016, its world essentially consisted of California and Nevada. California has since been completely rebuilt – and now every city and road network in Nevada is set to follow. Does this mean the last real piece of the original ATS is disappearing, or is SCS merely completing a long-overdue modernisation?