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If you need a job, you might want to check in on the virtual highways of American Truck Simulator, where a real-life trucking company is trying to hire new drivers through in-game billboards.
A number of billboards in American Truck Simulator's recreation of the United States now feature recruitment ads from the massive transportation company Schneider National, all pointing to the company's employment website. Developer SCS Software says that this advertising push is "now in the try-out phase," but hints that it could eventually expand beyond ATS into the more popular Euro Truck Simulator 2.
As the devs explain in their blog post, "when Schneider National approached us with their desire for us to help them with their recruitment campaign, we were excited to collaborate since it presents something new and also allows us to assist the need of the trucking industry in general considering the current shortage of skilled professionals."
Maybe the most surprising thing about all this is that the community broadly seems cool with the idea of in-game ads. "Good, realistic, not annoying, helpful and smart way of advertising," as one fan on Twitter puts it. "This doesn't annoy people, gives money for ads I think and it adds better detail." A few outliers aside, the comments on the blog post above echo the sentiment.
While American Truck Simulator has always been a bit of a niche game, its consistent popularity over the years has certainly raised SCS Software's profile in the eyes of the transportation industry. The ATS devs have even partnered with manufacturers like Western Star to create in-game versions of upcoming real-life truck models before they've even been revealed to the public.
