While we are waiting for the Iberia DLC to come out for the game Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2), which is going to happen in April, SCS Software already announced 2 new projects. One for ETS2, Heart of Russia, and one for American Truck Simulator (ATS), Texas. 

12th March 2021. Not only the one-year celebration of the COVID-19 lockdowns but also the announcement of yet another DLC for ATS. While we, virtual truck drivers, are anxiously waiting for the Iberia DLC for ETS2, which got postponed in December 2020 because of COVID and for which we now got a release perspective, in particular, April 2021 and looking forward to the upcoming project for ETS2, the Heart of Russia DLC, which got officially announced the 5th of March 2021 and the already announced state Wyoming for ATS, the development studio SCS Software gave us another thrilling news. The development team for ATS is working on their next project for the game, the state of Texas. With Wyoming and Texas in the pipeline, there will be 11 states in ATS, which makes the entire American map grow bit by bit.

Texas shares borders with the states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest, and has a coastline with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. 

Texas is the second-largest state in the USA. That goes for both population (after California) and area (after Alaska). This state is situated on the East side of New Mexico. Texas is also known as the Lone Star State. That nickname pays tribute to the Lone Star flag, which was adopted after Texas became independent from Mexico in 1836. Texas was an independent republic for ten years before accepting annexation to the United States, and the flag reflects the pride and go-it-alone spirit that is still part of the Texas way of life. 

Lone Star flag

Due to its enormous surface, Texas has a strong diversity in landscapes and climate but also in culture. The following geographical regions can be found in Texas:

• A large part of the state belongs to the Great Plains: a broad expanse of flat land (a plain), much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland, located in the interior of North America.
  

  The Great Plains States 

   

• The Texas Hill Country: a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau.
  

  Map of Texas Hill Country 

   

• Coastal area: from the Gulf of Mexico to San Antonio.
  

  Texas' coastal line

   

• Desert: the Trans-Pecos desert, which is part of the larger Chihuahuan Desert.
  

  Ocotillo in the Chihuahuan Desert of the Trans-Pecos 

   

• In the East of the state, you can find tropical forests, lakes and swamps.
  

Texas is well known for its oil resources. The capital is Austin and the largest city is Houston. Other important cities are Dallas, El Paso and San Antonio.

SCS Software didn't present a lot of details, yet. The development is still at a very early stage. That means that the further we will go in time, the more details they will reveal. We can only hope that a lot of the real-life aspects of this state are going to be found in the DLC. Think about those typical oil refineries, mountains, desert assets, cultural differences and vegetation and of course the most important cities.

One thing is definitely for certain: us virtual truckers will have a vast area to drive through with a lot of job opportunities.

But ... let's not forget that we are still going to get another state first: Wyoming. SCS Software is saying that their ATS team is growing and therefor they can speed up the development of that game. While the upcoming Wyoming DLC is way more advanced in development, Texas is in a very early stage. Being so much bigger than any other state, Texas will bring its own development challenges during the various stages of production. Therefore it is also too early to come with an estimated time of arrival (ETA). In the meanwhile, you can enjoy these work-in-progress (WIP) screenshots.

You can already add Texas to your Steam wishlist!