The game is set in a condensed depiction of the United States, featuring American conventional semi-trucks and various locations across the U.S., where players pick up a variety of cargos and deliver them to their destinations.

By delivering the selected cargo to its designation within the allotted time and with the least damage to the goods, the player will maximize the amount of money and experience points earned.

The amount of money and experience points earned are commensurate to the length of the delivery in distance traveled and type of goods being transported.

The player will begin by completing "quick jobs," which are goods deliveries that utilize an in-game company's trucks and trailers.

Once the player has earned enough money, they may then begin purchasing one or more trucks, but they may continue making "quick job" deliveries if desired.

Combined with all downloadable map content, the game now covers the entire Western Contiguous and part of the South Central and Midwestern regions.

Map expansions are available for New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Arkansas as DLCs.

[6] Currently, the player may travel as far north as Bellingham, Washington, as far south as Brownsville, Texas, as far west as Eureka, California, and as far east as Jonesboro, Arkansas.

On 18 December 2015, SCS Software announced the official release date for American Truck Simulator, 3 February 2016, on their blog.

[12] James Cunningham of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4 out of 5 saying, "While a little more realism would make American Truck Simulator more fun, paradoxical as that may sound, there’s no escaping how fantastically playable it is.

"[17] Laura Dale from Polygon rated the game a 8/10 saying, "As someone who sunk countless hours into Euro Truck Simulator 2, a fresh coat of paint, an unfamiliar set of sights and the challenge of driving on the wrong opposite side of the road left me confident that I'll be sinking just as many hours into American Truck Simulator.