X4 will allow you to fly all ships personally. From small scouts over a wide range of ship classes up to the biggest carrier, everything can be piloted from the cockpit or an external view. Additionally some drones and utility vehicles in X4 can be remotely controlled by the player.

A big focus in the development of X4 has been to achieve a seamless and immersive experience when moving between ships. You can leave a ship, climb down a ladder, walk over the dock of a large space station into another ship you may have parked there and replace the pilot that was working for you just by clicking on his chair.

Building space stations and factories has always been a foundation of the X games. After gaining enough money through fighting or trading, most players want to establish their own economy and start influencing the universe on a larger scale. In X4, it is now possible to be completely free and creative. Stations can be constructed from a variety of modules, be it production modules, living sections, docks or many other types of parts. The powerful new map system allows you to drag and connect modules using a connection system to design your own unique creations.

Egosoft are excited to unveil the upcoming major 7.00 update and the new expansion, X4: Timelines, for its space simulation game X4: Foundations, which just recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. Your support over the years has enabled us to keep working on X4, improving it and creating a game that is very special to us, as it is to many of you. Thank you, to all our players, all the content creators, all the modders, and of course to everybody who has worked on the game over the years.

Our previous four expansions have enlarged the X4 sandbox universe and drawn your interest with new factions, ships and storylines. Today we would like to give you a first look at our next, somewhat unusual, expansion for X4.

X4: Timelines - A Revolutionary Expansion

Please check out the above announcement video for X4: Timelines. In this video we not only show you some of the new content, but Egosoft founder Bernd Lehahn also explains what the new structure and the slightly different gameplay loop of X4: Timelines is all about.

Embark on an unprecedented space odyssey with X4: Timelines, the latest addition to the X4 universe. Using novel ways to introduce new players to X4's core gameplay mechanics, X4: Timelines will also delight long-serving space adventurers. With a thrilling new storyline which takes place outside of the X4 sandbox, prepare yourself for colossal challenges and unexpected excursions into the depths of the X series lore and history. X4: Timelines is your gateway to uncharted territories and untold stories. Select 'Timelines' from the main menu of X4: Foundations and set forth on an adventure that transcends time and space. Along the way, you can unlock various bonuses for your X4 sandbox universe.

MYSTERIOUS NEW STORYLINE
In an all-new mysterious storyline, you'll take on the role of Harper Donel, a trader in the border territories, who is not averse to risky deals. A fateful encounter not only changes your short-term plans, but shakes the foundations of your understanding of the universe, and everyone in it. Prepare to be immersed in a tale of intrigue and revelation.

IMMERSIVE SCENARIOS AND UNIQUE UNLOCKS
Embedded in the new X4: Timelines storyline, you'll find a wide range of scenarios in which you will experience the many different aspects of X4 gameplay. Playing these scenarios will also unlock new missions within the X4: Timelines storyline, and bonuses for your wider X4 sandbox universe - among them reimagined, classic ships from X universe history.

X4: Timelines is more than just an expansion; it's a revolution in the X4 universe. Whether you're a seasoned space explorer or a newcomer to the galaxy, this thrilling new chapter promises to captivate you with its blend of mystery, adventure, and strategic gameplay.

While the next expansion is strikingly different from its predecessors, one thing remains the same: a substantial free update for X4: Foundations will be released at the same time as the expansion. Update 7.00 will be huge, and the changelog is likely to break our own records once again... In spring 2024, we will be able to go into more detail about 7.00 and, of course, give you access to the public beta for it, as you have come to expect from us.

Update 7.00 - Elevating Your Space Experience

The free 7.00 update will bring a host of enhancements and new features to X4: Foundations:

• Reimagined Teladi and Argon Capital Ships: Marvel at the overhauled designs of these iconic vessels, adding more depth and intrigue to your space encounters.
• New sectors and landmarks: Explore fresh, uncharted regions in the X4 universe, expanding your horizons and opportunities.
• New Xenon Ships: Experience new ships from the X universe main antagonists in a way that will surprise even veteran X4 pilots.
• External Camera (F2) Overhaul: Experience a fundamentally improved and more intuitive external camera system.
• Existential Crisis: A new endgame challenge for veterans. Face off against a faction that goes all-out against you. This intense confrontation can be opted out of, for those seeking a more peaceful journey.
• Continuous Engine Improvements: Enjoy smoother, more stable gameplay with ongoing refinements to the game's engine.
• Enhanced Button Remapping: Tailor your controls with more flexibility than ever before.

X4: Timelines and the 7.00 update will take you on an unforgettable journey through space and time. Prepare to embark on this exciting new voyage in 2024. Stay tuned for more updates, and get ready to redefine your X4 experience!

Ships also offer a variety of upgrades. Engines, weapons and other equipment can be added in a graphical editor and actually seen on the ship.

X4 will be the first X game to allow our races and factions to freely build and expand their empires; the same flexibility the player enjoys in creatively designing space stations from modular building blocks is also available to them. Races expand their empire based on supply and demand, which leads to an extremely dynamic universe where every action the player makes can influence the course of the entire universe.

Once you have more ships and many NPCs working for you as pilots, crew or station managers, the map will be your preferred method of managing it all. Ships can be ordered with simple clicks and through drag-and-drop operations to set their future path and commands.

Graphically plan your trade routes, coordinate attacks with your entire fleet, manage the hierarchy or send ships on remote exploration missions.

One of the key selling points of X games has always been the real, simulated economy. Wares produced by hundreds of stations and transported by thousands of ships are actually traded by NPCs and prices develop based on this simulated economy. This is the foundation of our living and breathing universe. Now with X4, we have taken another, massive step. For the first time in any X game, all parts of the NPC economy are manufactured from resources. Ships, weapons, upgrades, ammo and even stations. You name it. Everything comes out of the simulated economy.

The seamless change from ship to ship and from NPCs controlling your empire for you continues on a higher level. Once you own a larger fleet, you will be very interested in researching a technology from your HQ: Teleportation. Once you've unlocked teleportation, you can jump from ship to ship a lot quicker and experience all the critical situations your NPCs encounter first hand. Every order you have given to a ship before turns into a mission objective when you pilot the ship yourself. The moment you leave again, your pilot takes the helm and continues with their previous orders.

In X4, you can start your journey from a number of different gamestarts and as a number of different characters, each with their own role, set of relations and different ships and technologies to start with. No matter how you start, you are always free to develop in any other direction. Focus on exploration, make money with illegal trading and theft, command large battle fleets or become the greatest entrepreneur ever. It's all up to you to decide.

Key Features

• Spaceflight sandbox: Acquire ships and upgrade their systems or create fleets of hundreds. From small scouts to massive capital ships.  Fly them all from cockpit or bridge and remote command with a powerful map.
• Research: Research new technologies like teleportation, blueprints for station and ship construction and much more
• Build: Full creativity with station construction.  Station and factory modules can be freely connected to form ever-growing economic or military installations.
• Explore: A massive universe awaits sheer endless opportunities for exploration. Find resources for mining and crafting, to acquire rare technologies. Explore ancient installations.
• Sandbox Gamestarts: Start into X4 from a variety of angles. Represent different factions, ships, and technologies. Every start offers a new view at the universe, but all allow you to unlock everything.
• Dynamic universe: Factions build and expand stations dynamically and react to the economy and military threats. Every game can take a new and unexpected turn for the entire universe.
• Complex Economy: Trade with a single ship or rise to become an empire manager competing with entire civilizations.  A fully simulated and dynamic economy reacts to changes on every level.

X4: Foundations is currently available for PC (Steam and egosoft.com).