American Truck Simulator vs Euro Truck Simulator 2
See how two games stack up across what matters most to you.
Short answer
Both are SCS trucking sims, and on every dimension we score they tie: the same logbook-as-story, the same 30 min to 2 hrs sessions, the same convoy co-op, the same trailer-reversing exam. The choice is the continent. Euro Truck Simulator 2 is the bigger world, with a denser map, a larger mod ecosystem and thirteen years of expansions. American Truck Simulator is the newer, state-by-state rebuild, with Route 66 sunsets and Rockies switchbacks. We think first-timers who want the most road should start in Europe; those who want the freshest craft per mile should start out West.
Side-by-side Comparison
American Truck SimulatorEuro Truck Simulator 2importance
Every Score Ties, So the Continent Decides
Line the two games up and every score matches. Story depth is a 1 on both sides, because in each game your logbook is the story. Neither has combat. Exploration freedom, co-op quality, difficulty, world immersion and build variety all land on identical numbers, and both games settle into sessions of 30 min to 2 hrs.
Even the hard part is the same: American Truck Simulator makes parking a 53-footer the exam, and Euro Truck Simulator 2 calls reversing a trailer the boss fight. Both offer single-player and a convoy mode that turns hauls into road trips with friends. Both let you tune your rig and grow a company. So the decisive difference is not a mechanic.
It is which roads you want to stare down for hours. Euro Truck Simulator 2 has been growing since 2012, and its map is a continent of drivable roads from Lisbon to Helsinki, kept growing by constant expansions. That density is its argument: more variety per hour, a larger map and a larger mod ecosystem.
American Truck Simulator arrived in 2016 and rebuilds the American West state by state, with Route 66 sunsets, Rockies switchbacks and neon truck stops. Put plainly, one is the bigger world and the other is the better-crafted one mile for mile. We think that framing is right, and most drivers end up owning both garages.
Pick American Truck Simulator for Route 66 and Newer States
Choose American Truck Simulator if American highways and desert sunsets call to you. Immersion scores match its European sibling, but the feeling is different: sunset over Arizona, Route 66 falling into dusk, switchbacks through the Rockies, a neon truck stop at the end of the run. It is the podcast game of the American West, and the calm is the same hypnotic lane-keeping you get in Europe, with a different continent of radio stations behind it.
The second reason is age. American Truck Simulator is the younger game, released in 2016, and it rebuilds its world one state at a time. If you want the newest map work rather than the largest, this is it. Mile for mile, the comparison calls it the better-crafted of the two, and we agree that its individual states feel more deliberately made than a map that has been expanding for thirteen years.
The third reason is taste. Route 66 romance versus autobahn efficiency is a real fork, and if the long interstate appeals more than a dense European road network, the West wins. You still get everything both games share: the logbook story, the trailer-parking exam, rig tuning, company growth, convoy road trips and sessions of 30 min to 2 hrs. We think it is the right first garage for anyone who cares most about craft per mile, and the right second one for Europe veterans wanting fresh scenery.
Pick Euro Truck Simulator 2 for the Bigger Map and Mods
Choose Euro Truck Simulator 2 if you want the fuller, older, deeper sim. It has been running since 2012, and thirteen years of constant map expansions have turned it into a continent of roads, all of them drivable, stretching from Lisbon to Helsinki. Europe's density packs more variety per hour, and that is what you will feel: the scenery turns over more often inside a single 30 min to 2 hrs session than it does on an American interstate.
The map is larger, and so is the mod ecosystem around it. If you expect to spend a long time in one game and want the community to keep feeding it, the older game has the deeper bench. Its build side matches its sibling exactly: truck tuning and company building. Immersion is a tie on paper, but the flavour differs. Where the American game sells sunset over Arizona, this one sells rain on the windshield at 2 AM with the radio on, and a decade of players calling lane-keeping at dusk the best podcast game ever made.
Reversing a trailer is still the boss fight, convoy mode still turns hauls into road trips, and the logbook is still the story. We think anyone new to trucking sims who wants the most road should start here: it is the bigger world, and most drivers end up owning both garages anyway.
Key facts, side by side
Playtime figures are community-reported estimates from HowLongToBeat (captured 2026-08-16), not main-story completion times.
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