Hard Truck 2 is the original version of the more well-known upgraded release called Hard Truck 2: King of the Road. Some of the major differences that separate this release are the lack of extended interface at gas and repair stations that allows player to choose how much fuel to fill or which parts of the car to repair, the lack of ability to buy lighter vehicles such as BMW M5 at the beginning of the game or even start playing as one immediately, weaker AI, far better rewards at "The Circuit", the lack of need to stop for refueling/upgrading in the "Simulator" mode, and some other elements. This original version cannot be upgraded to the Kind of the Road re-release via patching. It was initially released in US back in 2000 (v4.0), followed by a few updated versions that also saw release in some European countries as well (such as v5.8 being released in Portugal and Lithuania). Original Russian release v6.5 never had an official English translation, yet v6.5-7.4 were localized and released in some European countries (such as Lithuania). The upgraded version King of the Road 1.0 released in 2002 wasn't compatible with its predecessor and started a completely new version numeration, effectively becoming a separate expanded version of the game.