Euro Truck Simulator 2 is about to trade cargo for passengers. SCS Software’s long-teased “Coaches” expansion has been drip-feeding updates since mid-2025, and with a full gameplay preview finally out in July 2026, now’s a good time to round up everything we know. Here’s the complete story, straight from SCS’s official blog, in chronological order.

The Backstory: A 2013 Idea That Almost Became a Different Game

Coaches for ETS2 isn’t a new idea — it’s over a decade old. Back in 2013, SCS first floated the concept of a coach/bus experience, and by May 2015 the studio had even drawn up plans for a standalone spin-off codenamed “Euro Coach Simulator,” with prototype vehicles like the Setra S 431 DT and Irizar i6/i8 in the works. ETS2’s own runaway success pulled development resources away, and the coach project was shelved — though eagle-eyed players have spotted unused bus station prefabs scattered across the map for years since.

May–June 2025: The Tease and the Reveal

The comeback started quietly. On May 31, 2025, SCS teased a mysterious new feature — a bus pulling out from behind a truck at a rest stop — without explanation.

Two weeks later, on June 14, 2025, it became official. SCS published “Project Coaches,” announcing that the team was building a full Coaches expansion for ETS2. Instead of hauling freight, players will step into the role of a coach driver, picking up and dropping off passengers at redesigned bus terminals across the map. The studio was clear that this was a genuine addition, not a replacement: work on trucks, map expansions, and core ETS2 content continues as normal. CEO Pavel Šebor summed up the philosophy: the goal is to expand the driving experience, not transform it.

Technically, the DLC is also a milestone for the engine itself, since it’s the first time ETS2 will properly support multiple vehicle types side by side — which has reignited community speculation about an eventual return of rigid trucks.

July–August 2025: Meet the Team and the Modelling Process

On July 9, 2025, SCS introduced the eight-person Coaches team — a mix of programmers, game designers, 3D artists, and testers, some with real-world bus driving experience they’re using to make the handling and braking behavior authentic.

A month later (August 7, 2025), the spotlight turned to Senior 3D Artist Vitalii, who described going on a business trip to inspect real coaches firsthand for reference, and the unique challenge of building interiors and passenger animations — a completely different discipline from modelling trucks.

September–October 2025: Bus Stations and the Scania Touring

September 5, 2025 brought a deep dive into bus stations. Producer Dominik revealed that when the project began, ETS2 already had 7 prefab station models spread across more than 100 locations — six of those nearly a decade old are getting a full rebuild, while a newer Road to the Black Sea-era prefab gets a lighter refresh. Newer stations will ditch the old fences and walls so they blend more naturally into city surroundings, and the team confirmed that map updates tied to Coaches will be free for everyone who owns the relevant DLC — you won’t need to buy Coaches itself to get the improved stations.

On September 20, 2025, the first vehicle got its own spotlight: the Scania Touring, a long-distance coach originally launched in 2009, carrying up to 50 passengers depending on configuration. A follow-up “SCS On The Road” walkaround episode arrived October 8, 2025, showing the reference-gathering trip in more detail.

November–December 2025: Passenger Satisfaction and the MAN Lion’s Coach

November 23, 2025 introduced one of the DLC’s signature systems: passenger satisfaction. Driving too aggressively — harsh braking, speeding, rough cornering — will reduce the experience and rewards you earn from a route, pushing players toward smoother, more realistic driving.

December brought the second confirmed coach. On December 19, 2025, SCS unveiled the MAN Lion’s Coach, powered by MAN’s D26 engine and built in both 4×2 and 6×2 (standard and extended) configurations, with five interior color variants for seats and curtains. A companion “SCS On The Road” episode (December 27, 2025) documented the team’s visit to the MAN Bus Forum in Munich, where they captured reference photos, video, and audio recordings directly from MAN Truck & Bus SE staff.

January–February 2026: Under the Hood with Dominik, and the Volvo 9700 Double Decker

On January 9, 2026, SCS published an extended “Under the Hood” interview with producer Dominik, tracing his path from Italia DLC map designer to leading the Coaches project. He confirmed the team is already looking beyond launch — including “exploring cooperation with other long-distance coach manufacturers” and building out more tourist-oriented destinations for future updates.

February 8, 2026 brought the third confirmed vehicle: the Volvo 9700 Double Decker, a high-capacity coach that can carry up to 96 passengers in its real-world form. In-game, it’s built on a 6×2 chassis, standing 4 meters tall and measuring 14.3 meters long. Players will get official Volvo paint colors, interior customization, curtain colors, and different passenger seat variants, plus an in-game driver assistance system with collision warning and emergency braking.

April 2026: Coaches Meet the Existing Map

On April 19, 2026, SCS explained how Coaches integrates with ETS2’s existing DLC map. Because expansions like Italia, Road to the Black Sea, and Beyond the Baltic Sea were built long before Coaches existed, fitting large bus terminals into already-dense cities has meant reworking existing layouts — and in some cases expanding city footprints just to make room. The team’s priority order was covering major and capital cities first, then filling in gaps, while trying to recreate real-world landmark coach stations wherever the map scale allows.

July 2026: First Gameplay, MAN Lion’s Coach in Action

The biggest update yet arrived July 5, 2026: a full gameplay preview of the MAN Lion’s Coach running a real route from Duisburg to Rotterdam. This is the first time SCS has shown Coaches actually being played rather than just modeled. The preview highlights the passenger satisfaction system in action, a route summary screen showing passenger mood/satisfaction stats at trip’s end, and a visual parking guide for lining the bus up at stations — similar to the trailer-parking guides truckers already know, adapted for passenger stops. SCS also confirmed that cities are being reworked to add dedicated bus stops and long-term parking to support the new routes.

What We Know So Far

• Three confirmed coaches at launch: Scania Touring, MAN Lion’s Coach, Volvo 9700 Double Decker
• Core gameplay: multi-stop scheduled passenger routes, a passenger satisfaction system tied to driving smoothness, redesigned bus terminals across the existing map
• Map impact: free for all ETS2/DLC owners regardless of whether you buy Coaches, with dozens of stations reworked or newly built
• No release date yet — SCS continues to stress that everything shown remains work in progress

Wishlist It

If you want to follow along as this develops, the Coaches DLC has its own Steam store page you can wishlist now. Given the pace of updates — averaging roughly one blog post a month since mid-2025 — expect more vehicle reveals and gameplay previews before launch.