APPENDIX 5:

How to prevent ETS2 from updating automatically (aka "freezing" the game)

ETS2 - "Route of the Wolves" Mods Collection

🚛 Why Would You Want to Freeze ETS2?

Euro Truck Simulator 2 is one of the most actively modded games on Steam, with a thriving Workshop community that adds traffic, maps, sounds, trucks, trailers, and much more. However, this creates a recurring problem for serious mod users.

SCS Software releases updates frequently. Every major update changes game files, and many mods become incompatible overnight. Mod authors need time to test and update their work, sometimes days, sometimes weeks. If Steam updates your game automatically before your mods are ready, you may find yourself unable to play, facing crashes, missing assets, or broken save files.

Steam Workshop also updates mods automatically, without asking for your permission. A mod author may push an incomplete update, or a new version may conflict with other mods in your load order, breaking a carefully balanced setup that took you hours to configure.

The solution is to take full manual control of both the game and the mods, deciding yourself when and what gets updated. This guide walks you through exactly how to do that, step by step.

🧰 What You Will Need

🗜️ 7-Zip installed — free from 7-zip.org. Lets you peek inside mod archives without extracting them.
💾 Free disk space — approximately double the size of your current Workshop mod folder, temporarily.
🌐 A web browser — for looking up mod names on the Steam Workshop when needed.
⏱️ 20 to 60 minutes — depending on how many mods you have.

🔒 Part 1 Freezing the Game Itself

Step 1.1 Change the Automatic Update Setting

Open Steam and go to your Library.
Right-click on Euro Truck Simulator 2 and select Properties.
Click the Updates tab on the left.
Under Automatic Updates, open the dropdown and select: “Wait until I launch the game”
Close the Properties window.

💡 What this does: Steam will no longer download updates silently in the background. Updates only trigger when you actively click Play.

⚠️ Important: This setting alone is not enough. Even with it enabled, Steam will still force an update when you click Play. You need the next step to truly bypass this.

Step 1.2 Use Steam’s Offline Mode to Freeze Everything

Steam’s Offline Mode is the most effective freeze available. When Steam is offline it has no internet connection whatsoever, nothing can update: not the game, not Workshop mods, nothing at all.

When you want to play without triggering any update:

Open Steam.
In the top menu bar click Steam → Go Offline.
Confirm by clicking Enter Offline Mode.
Launch ETS2 as normal, nothing will update.

When you are ready to update:

Go to Steam → Go Online.
Launch ETS2, pending updates will now apply.

💡 For beginners: Think of Offline Mode as a complete pause button for Steam. Your game, saves, and mods remain completely untouched. You can switch online and offline as many times as you want.

⚠️ Why you should do a manual mod backup (Part 2): Offline Mode is sufficient while you are actively using it. However, there will be times when you go online for unrelated reasons, like browsing Steam, downloading something else, or simply forgetting. The moment Steam reconnects, it may silently sync and update your Workshop mods in the background. The manual backup in Part 2 ensures your frozen mod setup is always protected inside a folder Steam cannot touch, regardless of your online or offline status.

⏪ Part 1B Reverting to a Previous Version of ETS2

Here is something many players do not know: SCS Software deliberately keeps previous versions of ETS2 available on Steam, specifically for players who use mods that have not yet been updated. Even if you accidentally updated the game, or a new version broke your setup, you can roll back at any time.

Open Steam → right-click Euro Truck Simulator 2 → Properties.
Click Game Versions & Betas in the left menu.
You will see a list of available versions. The entries labeled temporary_1_XX (e.g. temporary_1_58) are older versions kept specifically for mod users.
Select the version that matches your mods. Steam will download and install it automatically.
Launch ETS2 — it will now run on the selected older version.

💡 To return to the latest version: Go back to Game Versions & Betas and select Default Public Version.

⚠️ Important: After switching to a previous version, always double-check that Automatic Updates is still set to “Wait until I launch the game”, and switch Steam to Offline Mode before playing. Steam may otherwise push the game back to the latest version the next time you go online.

🗂️ Optional Part 2 Freezing Your Workshop Mods

Steam Workshop mods update automatically whenever a mod author pushes a new version, with no warning and no native way to prevent it. The solution is to take your own backup copy of each mod, rename them for easy identification, and place them manually inside ETS2’s local mod folder where Steam has no access.

Understanding the Folder Structure

Steam stores all downloaded Workshop mods here:

[Steam drive]\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\227300\

227300 is ETS2’s Steam App ID.

Inside that folder you will find many subfolders, each named with a long number, the Workshop Item ID of each mod:

227300\
  ├── 3701130517\      ← one mod
  ├── 2988462378\      ← another mod
  └── 1649945117\      ← and another

Inside each numbered folder you will find one of the following:

📦 A ZIP file (commonly named ms2_content.zip) — the most common case.
📁 A decompressed folder containing the mod files directly — less common.
🔷 One or more SCS files — a native ETS2 format used by some mods instead of a ZIP.
⚠️ A combination of SCS files and a ZIP — the rarest case. All files are required and must each be renamed and moved individually. Covered in detail below.

Step 2.1 Check Your Free Disk Space

Right-click the 227300 folder → Properties.
Note the total size shown, you will need at least double that amount of free space available.

💡 Space-saving tip: Once all mods are confirmed working inside ETS2, you can delete the backup folder to reclaim that space. Only the files inside the mod folder are needed going forward.

Step 2.2 Copy the Workshop Folder to a Backup Location

Navigate to:
[Steam drive]\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\227300\
Copy the entire 227300 folder.
Paste it somewhere outside of Steam’s directories, for example:
D:\ETS2 Mods Backup\

⚠️ Do not move the original folder. Copy it. Steam must keep its own copy intact.

Step 2.3 Rename Each Mod to a Human-Readable Name

This is the most time-consuming part, but very important. Without proper names you will have no idea which mod is which later. Work inside your backup copy, not the original.

🔍 Method A Check the mod description file inside 7-Zip

Open the numbered folder (e.g. 3701130517).
You will see a file like ms2_content.zip. Do not extract it.
Right-click → 7-Zip → Open archive.
Look for a file named mod_description.txt and double-click it, 7-Zip will open it in Notepad without extracting.
Copy the mod name from the text file, then close Notepad and 7-Zip.
Rename the ZIP file using this format:
Steam [Mod Name].zip
Example: Steam ETS2 Traffic Trailers Mega Pack.zip

The Steam prefix is intentional — it identifies these manually managed mods inside the game’s mod manager and makes it easy to swap back to Workshop versions when you decide to update.

🌐 Method B Look up the Steam Workshop page

If the description file does not contain the mod name, note the numbered folder name and visit:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3701130517

Replace the number with your folder’s ID. The Workshop page will show the mod’s full name at the top. Copy it and rename the file as in Method A.

📁 If the mod is a decompressed folder instead of a ZIP

Rename the folder itself using the same Steam [Mod Name] convention. For example, rename usa_traffic_pack to Steam USA Traffic Pack.

⚠️ Special Case Mods with multiple SCS files (and possibly a ZIP)

Rarely, a mod’s folder will contain a mix of .scs files and possibly a ZIP. The mod author has split it into components that must all be loaded together. In this case, rename every single file by adding the mod name as a prefix. Do not rename just one, the mod will not work unless all components are present and active.

Original files inside the folder:

sound.scs
158_content.scs
downgrade_info_package.scs
temp_content.zip

After renaming (keeping original filename as suffix):

Steam Sound Fixes Pack v26.31 sound.scs
Steam Sound Fixes Pack v26.31 158_content.scs
Steam Sound Fixes Pack v26.31 downgrade_info_package.scs
Steam Sound Fixes Pack v26.31 temp_content.zip

Copy all of them to the mod folder and activate every one of them in the mod manager. Only then will the mod work as intended.

Step 2.4 Copy the Renamed Mods into ETS2’s Local Mod Folder

Copy all renamed files directly into:

[Windows user drive]\Documents\Euro Truck Simulator 2\mod\

⚠️ Critical, read this carefully

You must copy the files directly (the ZIP, SCS files, or mod folder), not the numbered container folder that holds them.

✅ Correct:

Euro Truck Simulator 2\mod\
  ├── Steam ETS2 Traffic Trailers Mega Pack.zip
  ├── Steam USA Traffic Pack.zip
  └── Steam Realistic Rain.zip

❌ Incorrect (game will NOT see the mods):

Euro Truck Simulator 2\mod\
├── 3701130517\
└── Steam ETS2 Traffic Trailers Mega Pack.zip ← too deep

Step 2.5 Clean Up the Backup Folder (Optional but Recommended)

Once you have confirmed that all mods appear correctly inside ETS2’s mod manager (see Part 3), you can safely delete the backup copy of the 227300 folder to recover disk space. Your working copies now live inside Documents\Euro Truck Simulator 2\mod\ — that is all you need going forward.

🎮 Part 3 Switching to Your Manually Managed Mods In-Game

Step 3.1 Open the Mod Manager

Launch ETS2 in Steam Offline Mode to prevent any updates applying on launch.
From the main menu, open the Mod Manager.

You will now see two versions of each mod, the original Workshop entry and your manually placed one.

💡 How to tell them apart at a glance: Workshop mods display a Steam icon on their thumbnail. Your manually placed mods will have the same thumbnail but without the Steam icon. This is the quickest and most reliable way to distinguish between the two versions.

Step 3.2 Swap Each Mod

Deactivate the original Workshop version, do not unsubscribe from it.
Activate your manually placed Steam version.
Maintain the same load order as before.

💡 Why keep Workshop versions subscribed? Keeping them inactive preserves a direct link to the Workshop page and makes future updates easy — swap back, let Steam update, then redo the backup.

💡 Load order tip: Take a screenshot of your active mod list before making any changes so you can replicate the exact order.

Step 3.3 Save and Test

Confirm your mod selection and let ETS2 reload.
Load a save file and verify everything looks correct.
Check the in-game console (press ~ or `) for mod-related errors.
If something is broken, verify files are directly inside mod\ and all components of multi-file mods are active.

✅ Confirmed working: Having both the Workshop version (inactive) and the manually placed version (active) in the mod manager at the same time works without issues. The in-game console will report no conflicts as long as only one version of each mod is active at a time.

🔄 Part 4 How to Update Everything When You’re Ready

Updating the game:

Go to Steam → Go Online.
Launch ETS2, pending updates will apply automatically.
Alternatively, use Game Versions & Betas to select a specific version (see Part 1B).

Updating your mods:

In the Mod Manager, deactivate all Steam prefixed mods.
Activate the original Workshop versions.
Let Steam sync and update the Workshop mods (automatic once online).
Test the game with updated Workshop mods.
Once satisfied, repeat Parts 2 and 3 to refresh your manual backup copies.

💡 Tip: You only need to redo the renaming step for mods that actually received updates. Check file modification dates inside the Workshop folder — updated mods will show a more recent date.

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📌 Quick Reference Summary

Goal	What to do
Stop background updates	Steam → Game Properties → Updates → “Wait until I launch the game”
Freeze game and mods completely	Steam → Go Offline → Launch game
Revert to a previous game version	Properties → Game Versions & Betas → Select `temporary_1_XX`
Update when ready	Steam → Go Online → Launch game (or select Default Public Version)
Protect mods even when accidentally online	Copy, rename with Steam prefix, paste directly into `Documents\ETS2\mod\`
Tell mod versions apart in-game	Workshop mods show a Steam icon on the thumbnail; manual ones do not
Update mods when ready	Swap back to Workshop versions, let Steam update, redo the backup process

🚫 Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Pasting the numbered container folder instead of the files inside it. The game will not see the mods. Always place ZIP, SCS, or mod folders directly inside the mod folder.
❌ Forgetting to go offline before launching. If Steam is online and a pending update exists, it will apply regardless of your automatic update setting.
❌ Deleting the backup before testing. Always confirm your mods work inside ETS2 before removing the backup copy.
❌ Losing your load order. Take a screenshot of your active mod list and order before making any changes.
❌ Only activating some files of a multi-file mod. All SCS components must be active for the mod to function correctly.
❌ Assuming all mods use the same format. Always check the contents of each numbered folder — ZIP, folder, SCS, or a mix — before renaming.
❌ Forgetting to re-apply update settings after switching game versions. Always double-check the automatic update setting and go back to Offline Mode after selecting a previous version.

🏁 Final Notes

This workflow gives you total control over your ETS2 installation. You decide when the game updates, you decide when mods update, and you never lose a working setup because of an automatic change you did not ask for.

The initial setup takes some time, especially with a large mod collection, but once done it is easy to maintain. Future updates only require you to refresh the mods that actually changed, not the entire collection.

Happy trucking, and may your load order always be stable. 🚛