We are thrilled to announce that the Open Beta for the 1.59 update of Euro Truck Simulator 2 is officially live. If you decide to jump in and experience these new features early, your input is invaluable—please report any bugs or technical hiccups you encounter in the official forums.
Your dedication to testing helps us refine the driving experience, and we truly value the community’s contribution. Let’s dive into what’s new in this substantial update.
The Benelux Rework
The long-awaited revitalization of the Benelux region has arrived. Our design team has completely rebuilt the original map layouts for Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg from the ground up, providing a vastly more detailed and immersive environment.
Truckers can now explore beautifully revamped cities including Amsterdam, Groningen, Rotterdam, Brussels, Liège, and Luxembourg City. Each city has been meticulously redesigned to capture its unique cultural landmarks and atmosphere. You’ll also find fresh logistical hubs, such as the sprawling Port of Antwerp and the ultra-realistic DAF Trucks facility in Eindhoven, crafted in collaboration with DAF themselves. Whether navigating the busy E40 and A2 motorways or touring the hilly Ardennes and coastal Dutch polders, the region has never looked better.
Volvo Trucks Experience Center
We are excited to partner with Volvo Trucks to bring their renowned Experience Center in Gothenburg, Sweden, into the game. This dedicated facility offers a professional driving circuit complete with elevation changes, technical corners, and varying road surfaces, allowing you to push your truck’s handling and stability to the limit in a safe environment.
This 1:1 scale recreation invites you to explore the circuit and surrounding areas. To find it, keep an eye out for an unmarked entrance near Gothenburg. Please note that access to this area requires the Scandinavia DLC.
Thermo King Integration
We have partnered with industry leader Thermo King to bring authentic refrigeration units to our reefers. These branded units replace the generic versions previously found on base game and DLC trailers, adding a touch of professional realism to your cargo hauls. The update features various models, including the SLXi series for single trailers and the specialized UT-1400R for double-trailer configurations.
New Advisor Widgets: Finances & Damage
Responding to community requests, we’ve introduced dedicated Finance and Damage widgets to the Route Advisor. You can now monitor your truck’s health, trailer condition, and bank balance (alongside your seven-day profit average) without navigating through multiple menus. These widgets are customizable via the settings and sit conveniently above your GPS.
Quality of Life Improvements
- Tow to Road: Stuck in a ditch? The new “Tow to Road” button (F7) allows you to recover your vehicle to a safe spot on the road for a small fee, preventing unnecessary delays during multiplayer convoys.
- Skills UX Redesign: The Skill Screen now features a cleaner, more intuitive interface that clearly displays your progression path and skill benefits, optimized for both mouse and controller navigation.
- UI & Map Enhancements: We’ve updated the news banner, improved world map pinning with an “undo” feature, and streamlined save handling to ensure a smoother experience.
- Traffic Audio: Ambient traffic sounds have been rebalanced for greater realism, focusing on tire-road hiss and natural engine volumes, while horn behavior has been randomized to sound more authentic.
- Detour Maintenance: The Detour feature is temporarily disabled while we perform a backend overhaul to improve reliability.
Changelog Summary
- Map: Benelux Rework, Volvo Trucks Experience Center.
- Vehicles: Thermo King refrigeration units.
- Gameplay: Tow to Road recovery system.
- UI/UX: Finance/Damage widgets, revamped Skills interface, improved News banner, and controller accessibility fixes.
- Visuals/Audio: Height blend graphical fixes and rebalanced traffic soundscapes.
As a reminder, this is an Open Beta. You may encounter experimental bugs or stability issues. If you wish to join the testing phase, you can access it via your Steam Library: Right-click Euro Truck Simulator 2 → Properties → Betas → select “public_beta”.