For the last two years, game development, much like the rest of the world, has been affected by ongoing strife. The lingering COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect certain aspects of the industry. As too does the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war that broke out in March, though in its own way. But what about content that directly features Russian content?
This particular set of parameters is quite a unique one, but it is a situation that has faced the team over at SCS Software. Long before the conflict broke out, it has been working on the Heart of Russia expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2 — the largest single map expansion that SCS has ever produced. After many weeks of silence on the matter, the studio has finally announced that it has decided to indefinitely delay the release of the Heart of Russia expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2.
Pumping the brakes
The delay was explained via SCS’ official blog post. SCS was actually on the cusp of wrapping up the Heart of Russia expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2 when the decision to delay was made. The expansion was only two months out from completion. Thus, a great chunk of finished work has now been left on the backburner.
SCS goes on further to explain that, while its content remains “apolitical,” it simply does not want to send the wrong message by releasing it now, as it could appear that the studio in support of Russia’s recent actions. Thus, the expansion will now wait in the wings of the studio until what it considers to be a more appropriate time arises.
At the time of publication, there have been no other announcements for additional Euro Truck Simulator 2 expansions. The last one to release was the Iberia expansion, covering the countries of Spain and Portugal. Geographically, the sim has now reached its westernmost extent, leaving the East as the next logical step. This is where the Heart of Russia expansion was supposed to come in. But, what about some alternate paths?
There is territory to the south that has not yet been featured in Euro Truck Simulator 2. Major countries like Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece, as well as other, smaller lands like North Macedonia, Albania, and Bulgaria are ripe for content. These would link up nicely with the existing Going East and Road to the Black Sea expansions. But it’s up to SCS to decide what its next move will be.
In the meantime, work steadily continues on the upcoming Montana and Texas map expansions for Euro Truck‘s sister game, American Truck Simulator 2. SCS has also recently outfitted both truck sims with new features with the recent release of Update 1.44.
