SCS Software

SCS Software is a developer and publisher.

SCS Software Webpage, Facebook

SCS Software is a Czech development studio founded in 1997, specializing in the production of simulation games for PC. Headquartered in Prague, SCS Software employs around 80 people. CEO Pavel Šebor leads the company.

Over the years, SCS Software has become known for two kinds of games. They originally started with hunting games and has revisited the genre multiple times over the years, with titles like Rocky Mountain Hunter’s Trophy (co-created) and Hunting Unlimited. Due to the niche appeal of hunting games, the Czech developer is best known for its numerous vehicle simulation games featuring light economic elements and centered on driving powerful eighteen-wheeled trucks. The studio’s productions revolve around two major franchises: 18 Wheels of Steel and Truck Simulator.

• History
• Technology

History

SCS Software was founded in 1997 in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The company originally aimed to develop a 3D engine that could later be licensed to other game developers. In 1999, the studio expanded into game development. Its first projects, created in collaboration with the American company Sunstorm Interactive, included the Rocky Mountain Trophy Hunter series (1999-2000), Hunting Unlimited, and Shark! Hunting the Great White (2001) These titles ran on SCS Software’s own graphics engine called TERRENG , which was later used for games such as Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project and several Deer Hunter releases.

The company’s first independent production was Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel, a truck-driving simulator released in 2002. This game initiated a series that continued to evolve over the following years. The game also led to the creation of a new engine - Prism3D - which was continually improved and went on to power most of SCS Software’s later games. Thanks to its warm reception, the game released a string of sequels. Between 2004 and 2007, five 18 Wheels of Steel titles were released, each enhancing various elements of gameplay, including graphics, maps, traffic systems, driving physics, and the selection of trucks and transport companies. During this period, SCS Software returned to its roots, helping develop new Hunting Unlimited games and releasing its own projects - the hunting game Deer Drive and the diving simulator Ocean Dive. In 2007, SCS Software released Bus Driver, a simulation game not related to the 18 Wheels of Steel series.

In 2008, SCS Software launched a new brand with Euro Truck Simulator. While it followed a similar style to the 18 Wheels of Steel series, it featured noticeably higher production quality and shifted the setting from American highways to European roads, focusing on authentic European truck models. Revitalizing the aging concepts of its earlier titles, Euro Truck Simulator proved to be a major commercial success, providing the Czech studio with renewed creative energy. This success also had a positive impact on later installments of the 18 Wheels of Steel series, released between 2009 and 2011, which introduced a significantly modified gameplay concept. Around the same time, the team kept building on its new series, releasing German Truck Simulator and UK Truck Simulator in 2010. These games followed the Euro Truck Simulator formula but offered more detailed maps of Germany and the UK.

In the meantime, SCS Software developed several additional installments of the Hunting Unlimited series (2008–2011), as well as two titles indirectly related to its main franchises: Trucks and Trailers (2011) and Scania Truck Driving Simulator (2012). The studio’s real success arrived in 2012 with the release of the second installment of Euro Truck Simulator. By polishing the original game and encouraging fan-made mods, the Czech studio turned Euro Truck Simulator 2 into a true phenomenon. Even without AAA-level graphics, it attracted a loyal community that stayed active for years.

In October 2013, SCS Software launched World of Trucks, a social networking platform for fans of the studio’s games. Between 2013 and 2017, the studio worked on expanding its most successful title, adding three large updates that brought detailed maps of Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and France, along with numerous gameplay improvements. In 2014, Bus Driver: Pocket Edition was released for iOS devices, marking SCS Software’s first - and so far only - mobile production. In 2016, American Truck Simulator was released, marking a return to the American roads familiar from the 18 Wheels of Steel series, while incorporating numerous features refined in the Euro Truck Simulator franchise.

In the following years, SCS Software focused exclusively on developing its two flagship titles - Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator 2. The former received a major expansion in 2013 titled Going East!. The game continued to grow with expansions like: Scandinavia (2015), Vive la France (2016), Italia (2017), Beyond the Baltic Sea (2018), Road to the Black Sea (2019) and Iberia (2021). American Truck Simulator was expanded with several DLCs, including New Mexico (2017), Oregon (2018), Washington (2019), Utah (2019), Idaho (2020) and Colorado (2020).

In the meantime, SCS Software kept updating both games, adding visual upgrades and plenty of technical fixes. The developers also released smaller, more affordable - and in some cases free - add-ons.

Technology

One of the defining features of SCS Software’s games is their use of proprietary technology. The first of these was the TERRENG engine, created when the studio was founded, with later versions used in SCS Software’s hunting games and in titles by external developers, such as Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project. SCS Software’s better-known technology, however, is the Prism3D engine, developed for the 18 Wheels of Steel series. Over time, the engine has been steadily upgraded - with better physics and modern tech support - and has become the main tool behind all of SCS Software’s simulation games.