American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator Are Finally Truly Playable in VR!

Let’s See Why

American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator Are Finally Truly Playable in VR!

For years, truck simulation enthusiasts have dreamed of a truly immersive VR experience in American Truck Simulator (ATS) and Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2). While VR support existed, it was often held back by technical limitations—until now. Thanks to advancements in VR hardware, particularly Pimax Crystal Light, combined with software optimizations, truck sim VR has reached a new level of realism and playability.

VR vs. Monitor:
Why VR is the Future of Truck Simulation

The magic of experiencing American Truck Simulator or Euro Truck Simulator in VR lies in the complete immersion it offers. Unlike playing on monitors or triples, VR transports you into a living, breathing world where you can feel the morning mist on your windshield and watch golden sunsets fill your cabin. The slower pace of trucking, compared to racing sims, makes it perfect for VR, eliminating motion sickness while allowing you to fully appreciate the journey.

Every detail comes alive in three-dimensional space. Your dashboard has real depth, and checking mirrors becomes as natural as turning your head in real life. Complex maneuvers like backing into tight docks transform from frustrating challenges to intuitive actions, thanks to VR's accurate depth perception. As you cruise down highways at night, watching raindrops streak across your windshield with city lights glowing in the distance, you're no longer just playing a game - you're living an authentic trucking experience.

📝Your Feedback Matters: VR Truck Simulation Survey

Why VR Truck Sim Wasn’t Ideal Before:
Limitations of Other Headsets

Previous attempts at experiencing VR trucking with headsets like the Meta Quest 3 or Pico 4 were limited by technical compromises. One major issue is performance. Even when connected via USB-C, headsets like the Quest 3 struggle to deliver smooth and stable gameplay. Players frequently report stuttering, jitter, and input lag that make driving virtually unplayable.

"Even with a 5090, I gave up on ATS. To be honest, it was probably because I was following a several month old guide for an older version. Since I have a 5090 w/9800x3dbutonlyaquest3, what changes do you suggest from your configuration for the best experience with that headset?"

@joeschofield2171
Youtube

“Hey guys, I tried playing ats in vr, and it im getting bad performance, in the menu, I run at 144 fps, like my headset’s refresh rate, but when driving, the game will never go over 48 fps, I made sure in the settings the cap is turned off, and I changed in the config file the window averaging length to 288. Can anyone help me? (My specs are 4070 ti oc 12gb, 7800x3d and 32 ddr5, valve index)”

maddie_cant_drive
Reddit r/trucksim

“im quest 3 user as well and all quest 3 guides are almost outdated and i can't see anything infront of me in half truck length to the front is just blurry and messy and choppy even thou i have 3090ti and i9 12k”

@ILLUSI_N
Youtube

“I' m trying ti play ets2 with meta quest 3, i play with the link cable and the ethernet on the PC, so i think Is enough. The specs of the PC are ok (i have a 3070 and a i7 12th with 32gb DDR5). but when i play every 5/10 second i have a LAG/stutter and for me Is unplayable. There Is some option that destroy my gameplay? i try to use the 1.53 and 1.52 versione and Is the same.”

CR_loste0873
Reddit r/trucksim

Visual fidelity is another challenge. Wireless streaming, or even USB tethering, introduces heavy compression artifacts, resulting in blurry visuals and a loss of detail. This makes it nearly impossible to appreciate advanced graphical enhancements like Reshade, which adds stunning volumetric lighting and hyper-realistic environmental effects. Since Reshade only works through OpenXR, it is not compatible with standalone headsets, making them unable to reach the same visual quality.

Quest 3
Crystal Light

You can see from the comparison pictures that the lighting in Crystal Light is far more natural than it in Quest 3, and level of fine detail much more pronounced for example, in the wheel hub, the clouds (volumetrics) much less cartoon like, and reflections in the bumper/chrome etc much clearer.

Moreover, many mainstream VR headsets suffer from a narrow field of view (FOV), which forces users to move their heads more than they would in real life—breaking immersion and contributing to fatigue during long sessions.

All of this creates a frustrating gap: while monitor users enjoy sharp, responsive graphics, VR users often end up with a blurry, laggy experience that lacks realism and depth. For fans of truck simulation games, this has long been a dealbreaker—until now.

Pimax’s Unique Advantages for Truck Sim VR

Pimax Crystal Light changes everything by eliminating the biggest issues with VR trucking. Unlike wireless headsets, it connects directly via DisplayPort, delivering uncompressed native 4K visuals—no more blurry textures or artifacts. The 2880*2880 (per eye) resolution and glass aspheric lenses ensure that even small details, like dashboard gauges and distant road signs, are crystal clear.

The wide field of view is also a game-changer. Instead of feeling like you’re looking through binoculars, you get a much more natural view of the road, making lane changes and intersection navigation feel more realistic.

Thanks to Reshade, also known as Project Next Gen (PNG), the lighting and colors pop in ways that flat-screen gaming can’t match—sunrises look warmer, rain feels heavier, and night driving becomes an atmospheric experience.

  • Nom de la collection

  • Nom de la collection

Current Performance & Future Optimization

Next Level Sim Gaming’s testing shows that with a high-end GPU like the RTX 4090, ATS and ETS2 can run in VR at a silky-smooth 90–120Hz—delivering a comfortable experience even on long hauls. And with SCS Software’s upcoming DirectX 12 update, performance is expected to get even better, minimizing stutters and enhancing visual detail.

Even more exciting is the new "Project Road Trip" mode, where you’ll be able to drive a convertible down iconic highways like Route 66. In VR, that means feeling the open road like never before—wind in your hair, scenery all around, and total immersion.

““I have played both American Truck Simulator, and Euro Truck Simulator 2 for a number of years on various Virtual Reality Headsets from Quest, and the Pico 4.

The Pimax Crystal Light offers the very best way to play these games, allowing virtual truckers finally a real way to play both with smooth gameplay, and stunning visuals, but also being able to benefit from the ability to run all modifications from the desktop version, the ability to simply pick up and play with a dedicated PC VR device at such quality is simply the best way to play””

Next Level Sim Gaming
Youtube
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The Best Way to Play ATS & ETS2 is Now in VR

With Pimax Crystal Light’s uncompressed visuals, ultra-high resolution, and Reshade enhancements, American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2 are finally truly playable in VR—offering an experience that surpasses triple-screen setups. If you’ve ever wanted to feel like a real trucker, now is the time to jump into VR trucking with Pimax.