Euro Truck Simulator 2 is still pulling unusually heavy Steam traffic more than 13 years after launch, helped by a major free update that rebuilt one of the sim's oldest map regions.
SCS Software's long-running trucking sim was No. 31 in Gamers Now's 17:50 UTC reading of Steam's public most-played chart on May 12, up from No. 33 in the latest weekly comparison. Valve's chart listed a 43,013-player weekly peak, while the live reading showed 41,608 players in-game. Recent readings for the game have more often been closer to the low 30,000s, putting the current count above its usual Steam traffic as well as near its weekly high.
The clearest player-facing reason is update 1.59, which SCS Software released on Steam on May 6. The update's headline feature is the Benelux Rework, a full rebuild of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in the base game, with redesigned cities, routes, ports and landmarks.
Benelux gives veteran players a reason to drive again
Euro Truck Simulator 2 has become one of Steam's rare evergreen sims, but the 1.59 update is more substantial than a routine maintenance pass. SCS says its map designers rebuilt the original Benelux area from scratch, including Amsterdam, Groningen, Rotterdam, Brussels, Liège and Luxembourg City.
The update also adds new driving locations tied to real-world industry. Antwerp's port is part of the rework, while Eindhoven now includes a DAF Trucks facility recreated with input from DAF. For a game where route familiarity is part of the long-term loop, a full base-map refresh gives returning players something concrete to explore without buying a new expansion.
Update 1.59 also adds the Volvo Trucks Experience Center near Gothenburg, Sweden, though SCS says players need the Scandinavia DLC to visit it. The same patch brings branded Thermo King refrigeration units, a Tow to Road recovery option, advisor widgets for finances and damage, a redesigned skills screen, controller navigation improvements and a temporary shutdown of the detour feature while SCS works on it.
A 2012 sim is sitting beside newer Steam hits
The Steam placement stands out because Euro Truck Simulator 2 is competing with newer releases and current live-service events, not just other simulation games. In the most recent Gamers Now weekly Steam chart, the top of the list was still controlled by Counter-Strike 2, PUBG: Battlegrounds and Dota 2, while fresher movement came from games such as R.E.P.O. and Everything is Crab.
Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a different kind of chart story. The notable part is durability: a paid sim first released in 2012 is holding near the top 30 after a free update refreshed a major part of the base game, with its current Steam audience sitting close to this week's peak.
Lapsed players now have a visible reason to check back in through the Benelux Rework. For everyone else watching Steam's most-played list, SCS Software's trucking sim remains one of PC gaming's longest-running crowd pullers.