A trucking company is telling gamers to take it outside. American Truck Simulator, a popular video game that lets players load, drive, and park 18-wheelers in excruciating detail, now features in-game billboard ads for Schneider National, which is looking to hire real-world drivers.
The ads show how desperate the trucking industry is to recruit new talent. US trucking companies were short a record 80,000 drivers in 2021 and that number could reach 160,000 by 2030, according to the American Trucking Association.