American Truck Simulator’s latest teaser is just a sound effect and no one seems to agree on what exactly it means

Truckin' in the rain. — (Image credit: SCS Software)

In the latest teaser for American Truck Simulator, SCS Software asks you to simply hear them out. More precisely, hear out the roughly thirty seconds of out-of-context engine revving followed by a mysterious tagline: "The future sounds a little bit different, right?"

I’m not exactly a gearhead—I couldn’t tell you a carburetor from an alternator, just which truck in a lineup looks the most like Optimus Prime—but even I can tell you this sound doesn’t call to mind the roaring big rig engines I’d associate with a game like American Truck Simulator. It’s a vroom with some clarity and grace, not the clattering whirlwind of a Mack truck.

American Truck Simulator - Hear Us Out! - YouTube

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Fans are already flooring it with speculation, with X user favstarhere saying, "I swear that’s an American muscle car." Over on YouTube, user flight0508 wondered, "Sounds like a pickup truck. Is Pavel finally going outside of Class 8 trucks?" Whatever it is, X user TheElmoPelle summed up community sentiment tidily: "That is not a truck."

Now, I might not know anything about the vehicles I trust to get me across the interstate in one piece, but I sure do love a mystery. And while this teaser doesn’t seem to have attracted a consensus on what exactly it signifies just yet, it is a mite more coquettish than I expect from a game like American Truck Simulator.

The game is so squarely focused on simulating America’s iconic semi-trucks that the potential addition of cars, vans, or even a pickup truck would be a pretty substantial shakeup. It’s something the community has certainly speculated about, and while SCS Software has gone out of their comfort zone before, it tended to be with school buses, fire trucks, and other vehicles that can show off that weighty, slow handling. It’s something the developer has specialized in since the first 18 Wheels of Steel game released 23 years ago.

It might not be a bad move, though, were that to be what’s teased here. Simcade hits like Forza and The Crew Motorfest boast huge rosters of vehicle types, and a broader scope of drivable machines might attract casual drivers intimidated by the jump to a semi-truck and diehard truckers looking to shed their chassis-shaped shackles alike. Coming from arcade racers like Horizon Chase and Need for Speed, I’d certainly turn my head if the long-running trucking series suddenly added nimbler vehicles.

Of course, that’s all just speculation until something more concrete comes out of SCS Software. So I’ll be placing my bet on what I’m certain this sound effect is teasing: a Formula 1 crossover. Yep, we are finally getting rid of all these stupid slowpoke rectangles and getting some real action in. You, uh, heard it here first.

Until the spring sale ends tomorrow, American Truck Simulator is available on Steam for $4.99.

Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. Any day now...

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