ETS 2 Heart of Russia Launch Uncertain; Devs May Cancel DLC
The release of Heart of Russia DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2 may not happen. The developers are considering a number of options, but they hope that the expansion will eventually appear on sale.
The release of the announced Heart of Russia expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2 has been put on hold. The developers do not know when the DLC will be available for purchase, if at all. Everything will depend on the situation in Ukraine.
Heart of Russia DLC release may never come
SCS Software has delayed the release of the upcoming DLC to its flagship truck driver simulator. The newest expansion was supposed to take us to the heart of Russia. The new map would expand the Russian territory already present in the game with new cities. We would visit Moscow and the surrounding areas, as well as have the opportunity to admire the Volga River. The developers have been boasting about the beautiful scenery and attention to detail for several months now.
The Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine thwarted these plans. The release of Heart of Russia at the time of a major military conflict would not have been a good idea. SCS Software makes no secret of its support for the country. It has recently released a small DLC titled Ukrainian Paint Jobs Pack, which costs less than $1. All profits from the sale of the pack are donated to help the Ukrainians.
The developers are considering several options:
- Dropping the DLC altogether.
- Delayed release of Heart of Russia.
- Renaming of the DLC to one that is not "emotionally charged".
- Donating the revenue or a portion of it to Ukraine.
"Part of our community feels the need to block anything Russian. So they want us to cancel the DLC and start working on the Ukrainian expansion right away. The other group, on the other hand, tries to present arguments in favor of releasing the expansion. They claim that trees and roads are not to blame for the current situation," said Daniel Nemec, who is responsible for PR.
Pavel Sebor, co-founder of the studio, explained that the company immediately began discussing potential solutions.
"We have been saying for many months that this would be the case. The probability of war was constantly growing. We had already talked a few months ago about what the possible Russian-Ukrainian scenario could be. In the early days we kept saying to ourselves, 'maybe the war will end quickly, but so what?' It was clear that we could not continue on this path and advertise the beauty of Russia."
The release has been suspended. Perhaps even the title of the expansion will be changed, because the name Heart of Russia is, according to the studio, emotionally charged. The creators emphasize that they do not want to provoke or hurt people who feel that advertising Russia at this time is not a good idea. They claim that even showing the beauty of nature will not be separated from politics by the community.
"At the moment we have no idea what will happen. We have a shelved DLC that we probably can't release right now. Apart from the fact that it would be impossible to buy it in Russia, it would basically be a provocation. We can only wait and hope - and not because of the DLC - that Ukraine wins. (...) At the moment we cannot find any excuse or justification. Even if we donated all the proceeds to Ukraine, a large group of fans might still take it negatively. They could say that we are advertising something that we should not advertise. It is a delicate issue," added Pavel Sebor.
The issue is indeed extremely complicated and definitely giving the developers a headache. However, SCS Software hopes that the time of DLC release is not far away and eventually circumstances will make it possible. They also hope that the release can be turned into something positive.
