A small-scale proof-of-concept was built in UE 5.3:
SCS Software has hinted at a major engine overhaul (internally called "Prism3D Next-Gen") that borrows features from modern engines without a full port. They have already started adding:
Essentially, SCS is trying to polish a diamond that has turned into a lump of coal. They can polish it forever, but they cannot turn it into a diamond without rebuilding it. euro truck simulator 2 unreal engine
Even with mods like Realistic Graphics Mod or Next-Gen Graphic Mod, ETS2 suffers from:
Imagine driving from Oslo to Rome without a single loading screen. Unreal Engine’s World Partition system allows for seamless streaming of massive open worlds. You could watch the architecture change from Scandinavian minimalism to Alpine chalets to Mediterranean stucco in real-time, without stutter. A small-scale proof-of-concept was built in UE 5
SCS Software has always struggled with the "uncanny valley" of scale. Their cities are impressive dioramas, but they often feel like movie sets—facades that you drive past. UE5’s World Partition system could solve the stuttering and pop-in that plagues even the most optimized map mods.
Imagine driving through the Alps. Instead of a painted backdrop, you have kilometers of view distance. You see the storm rolling in over the peak miles before you hit the rain. This changes the pacing of the game. It transforms the drive from a series of connected map tiles into a journey through a contiguous, breathing continent. The trees, currently flat billboards in Prism3D, would sway in unison with the wind, their leaves individually lit by the sun filtering through the clouds. SCS Software has hinted at a major engine
Currently, your truck's interior in ETS2 relies on static, pre-baked lighting. With Lumen, sunlight would bounce realistically off the asphalt, into the cabin, and reflect off the chrome gear stick. Driving through the Black Forest at sunset would cast shifting, volumetric light beams through the pine trees, dynamically illuminating the dust on your dashboard.
Let’s suspend reality for a moment and imagine SCS Software announces ETS2: Rebuilt. Here is what Unreal Engine 5 would bring to the driver's seat.
