Can’t speak for other games, but there’s a LOT of former truck drivers who play Snow Runner.
Back when I was working as a forklift driver, when I broke my leg and was stuck at home on the sofa I really enjoyed driving the forklift around in GTA5 and just moving palettes around.
There are current truckers who play Euro Truck Simulator in their trucks. I’ve seen it on r/trucksim
I mean, pilots do similar things, although probably not while in the cockpit.
I work with kids who are seeking vocational education, and I can tell you that it is definitely not just office workers.
A favorite is euro truck sim 2. Weirdest case I’ve met though is farming sim. I’ve talked with 16 year olds who’d play that game for hours daily. Even got a friend of the family who’ll come home from driving a tractor for 14 hours straight, and then play farming sim to wind down.
I know the farming simulator type of people. I think those people simply have a high professional interest in farming economy, management and agricultural technology.
Even more impressing than those who play every FS 20xx for hours I find those who mod for the games. Year after year they photograph, model, program and share their equipment, which is sometimes decades old.
