Steam Workshop mods in ETS2 and ATS: subscribing, where the files are, updates, removals, and clashes with manual copies

24 Oct 2026 · 3 min read · ModsDrop

Pictured: Expanded FH Customisation – More Tuning Parts for Volvo FH, from the ModsDrop library.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator are the only games we host that support the Steam Workshop, and many players use it alongside manually downloaded mods. The two routes end up in the same Mod Manager, which is convenient until a Workshop item disappears, updates under you, or collides with a manual copy of itself. Here is how Workshop mods behave in the truck games and how to keep them under control.

Subscribing

Open the game’s Workshop page in Steam, or use the Workshop button in the game, and subscribe to a mod. Steam downloads it in the background. The next time you open the Mod Manager it appears in the list, marked as a Workshop item, and you activate and order it exactly like a manual mod. Subscribing does not activate anything by itself; a mod in the list but not in the active column does nothing.

Where the files are

Workshop mods are not in your Documents\...\mod folder. Steam keeps them in its own library under steamapps\workshop\content\, in a folder named after the game’s Steam ID (227300 for ETS2, 270880 for ATS) with one subfolder per item. You do not need to touch them; it is useful to know where they are if you want to see a mod’s size or keep a personal copy of something your career depends on.

Updates

When an author updates a Workshop item, Steam updates your copy automatically, usually before you next start the game. That is the main convenience and the main risk: an update that breaks something reaches you without asking. If a mod you rely on changes behaviour overnight, check its Workshop page’s change notes; there is no built-in way to go back to the previous version.

When an item is removed

Authors sometimes remove Workshop items, and items are sometimes taken down for rule or copyright reasons. Your copy disappears at the next sync, and a profile that used it shows the “mod missing” dialog. What happens next depends on what the mod provided, as the profiles and saves guide explains: a truck is replaced, a job is cancelled, a map location moves you. Keeping a profile backup and, where the author allows it, a personal copy of critical mods is the only protection.

Workshop and manual copies of the same mod

If you subscribe to a mod on the Workshop and also have a manually downloaded version in your mod folder, both appear in the Mod Manager. Activating both is a conflict: the higher one wins, the lower one may half-apply, and the result is confusing. Keep one. As a rule, use the Workshop copy for mods you want kept current, and a manual copy for mods where you need a specific version, such as a map that matches your game version while you stay on an older branch.

Load order still applies

The Workshop changes how a mod arrives, not how the game applies it. Map mods above their dependencies, traffic filters above traffic packs, sounds and skins near the bottom: the order in the install guide applies to Workshop items exactly as to manual ones.

Betas and Workshop mods

When you join an open beta, such as 1.62 now, Workshop items do not change by themselves, but their authors may publish updates for the beta that do not work on the release branch. If you switch back and forth between branches, manual copies give you more control during the beta period.

Multiplayer

For Convoy, every player needs the same mods in the same order. A Workshop collection shared by the host is the easiest way to make sure everyone has the same items, as long as nobody also has a manual copy of one of them. TruckersMP has its own rules about which mods are allowed at all; see the multiplayer guide.