- Interview With Lino: Egosoft Art Director - 9 September 2026
In the new episode of Inside Egosoft, Joey chats with Lino, Egosoft’s Art Director and 14-year veteran at the studio. Alongside his own artistic creations, Lino oversees the art team and the overall artistic direction of the X Universe.In this conversation, they discussed everything that goes into the visual experience of an X game: special rules that go into each faction’s designs, some of Lino’s favorite tools and techniques, and even his favorite bug.Below, you can read some highlights from this episode. Thank you for reading and listening, and please tune in to Inside Egosoft on all major podcast platforms to catch the next episode!Let us know in the comments if there’s someone from the team or a topic you’d like to see highlighted in a future episode. 🔗 Amazon🔗 Pocketcasts🔗 iHeart RadioFourteen Years at EgosoftJoey: Would you like to introduce yourself? How long have you been wo…
- Interview with Alexei Zakharov: Egosoft Composer and Sound Designer - 13 August 2026
In the latest episode of Inside Egosoft, Joey sits down with Alexei Zakharov, composer and sound designer for Egosoft since 2003. Alexei is responsible for most of what you’ll hear in X4: Foundations, from the atmospheric music in your favorite sectors to the hum of your ship’s engines. Since Alexei and Joey share many similar experiences as longtime musicians and producers, this episode contains some musings about their shared experiences in the field such as writing styles, inspiration, tools and techniques, and the details that listeners don’t always notice.Below are some highlights from the conversation. Tune in to Inside Egosoft on all major podcast platforms to listen to this episode, and watch out for a new one later this month! Listen to the Inside Egosoft Podcast:🔗 Youtube🔗 Amazon🔗 Pocketcasts🔗 iHeart Radio Getting Started with EgosoftJoey: How did you first become involved…
- Interview with Matthias: 18 Years of X - 13 July 2026
In our latest episode of Inside Egosoft, Joey sits down with Matthias, one of Egosoft's longest-serving developers, to discuss almost two decades of working on the X Universe.Though his title could be described as “gameplay programmer,” Matthias' efforts reach far beyond that role. In this conversation, we discuss topics ranging from AI flight systems and X4's design philosophy to the evolution of the game's 3D map, resource simulation, and plenty more.Below are some highlights from our chat. You can tune in to listen to the conversation on all major Podcast platforms. Keep an eye out for another episode later this month!Listen to the Inside Egosoft Podcast:🔗 Youtube🔗 Amazon🔗 Pocketcasts🔗 iHeart Radio Wearing Many HatsJoey: You're generally described as a gameplay programmer, but I think people hear that and picture someone working in one very specific area. How would you describe y…
- Join us at ChinaJoy Express in Shanghai from July 31st to August 3rd - 10 July 2026
X4: Foundations is joining the Triple-i Initiative offline events in Shanghai!TO ALL PLAYERS:We are pleased to announce that X4: Foundations, invited by the Triple-i Initiative, will offer offline trial play at two exhibitions in Shanghai this summer. This event is open to all players, and we welcome everyone to come and experience it in person.EXHIBITION INFORMATION:The first event is the Coreblazer Game Fest, held on July 25–26 at Shanghai Super Brand Mall. Admission is free, but requires advance registration at https://www.coreblazer.com/cgf/2026, and registration is subject to screening.The second event is the ChinaJoy Express Zone, held on July 31 – August 3 at Hall N1, Shanghai New International Expo Centre. Please keep an eye on official ticketing updates for further information.DEMO CONTENT:The on-site demo will feature a curated build that guides players through the core mechan…
- X4: Foundations Player Feedback Survey 2026 - 9 July 2026
Greetings,Feedback from our players has always been a guiding light for our work on the X Universe. We are constantly discussing reviews, forum posts, and comments internally, and your feedback during our open betas is invaluable as we strive to make each update the best it can be.In an effort to better understand our players and align our priorities, we’ve created a survey to learn more about your experiences, playstyles, preferences, and desires.We estimate this survey will take roughly 10 minutes to complete, and we encourage you to skip questions if you don’t have a particular opinion on the subject.We sincerely thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us and for helping shape the future of X4: Foundations.TAKE THE SURVEY
- Upcoming Changes to X4: Foundations Minimum System Requirements - 1 July 2026
As we continue to develop and expand X4: Foundations, we are constantly looking for ways to improve the game's proprietary engine and overall performance. To keep pushing the boundaries of what our engine can do, we are preparing to upgrade our graphics API to Vulkan 1.4 as part of a future update. Our plan is to do this as part of the next major update after 9.00. Because of this necessary technological step forward, we will soon be updating the minimum GPU requirements for X4: Foundations. Why are we making this change? Transitioning to Vulkan 1.4 is a significant technical milestone for us. As a small team, splitting our resources between legacy hardware support and modern development has become a significant drain; continuing to support older hardware requires us to maintain more code, and limits the graphical features we can make use of. By streamlining our engine around this newer…
- X4: Foundations is on Today's Steam Daily Deals - 15 June 2026
Greetings, We’re excited to announce that X4: Foundations is featured as a Steam Daily Deal today, making for a great opportunity for new players to dive into our living universe at a discounted price. This sale comes just days after we released our free 9.00 “Empire Update,” one of the largest free updates in X4: Foundations’ history. This update brings new features, sweeping balance improvements, and refinements across many aspects of the game as we continue our long-term commitment to improving and expanding the X Universe. ObsidianAnt recently offered some high praise for the update: If you've been waiting for the right moment to begin your journey from lone pilot to fleet commander in a fully-simulated sandbox where every action matters, there’s never been a better time to get started. Thank you for your support, and welcome to all new players joining us during the Steam Daily Deal.
- X4: Foundations 9.00 "Empire Update" is Out Now! - 10 June 2026
We're very excited to announce that the X4: Foundations "Empire Update" (9.00) has officially launched! This free major update includes new features and sweeping reworks that improve how you interact with your empire: militarily, strategically, and economically. We'd like to extend our sincere thanks to the community for your invaluable feedback during the 9.00 Public Beta, which has helped us to make even more improvements over the past several weeks. In particular, your feedback has been immensely helpful in fine-tuning our updates to the AI. Below is an overview of the Empire Update's features. For a deeper dive into what's in store, be sure to take a look at the 9.00 Public Beta announcement. For a quick rundown of the biggest changes, watch our 9.00 Public Beta Announcement video from March 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDddUWlEe1c What's New In The 9.00 Update Combat Impro…
- X4 Empire Update (9.00) Launches June 10, 2026 - 3 June 2026
We're excited to announce that the X4: Foundations Empire Update (9.00) is set to launch on June 10, 2026! The Empire Update touches on every aspect of empires within X4 - the balance of ships and their loadouts, how commands may be issued, how resources are distributed in sectors, the effectiveness of pilots, and the possibilities for trade, production, and station building throughout the universe. This update brings the biggest rebalance in X4's history: hundreds of weapons, shields, and ships have been reworked to address under-performers and to vastly improve the diversity of viable loadout options. Changes to ship hardpoints have improved this diversity further by enabling a much wider range of modules to be equipped across ships. Numerous AI improvements have pilots behaving more intelligently and in line with their roles in the fleet. The new Priority Orders system gives you imme…
- 9.00 RC4 now available - 2 June 2026
Release Candidate 4 is now available. Thank you, everyone, for your continued testing and for providing feedback! The full list of changes can be found below. How Do I Take Part in the Public Beta? Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 9.00 Public Beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum - no registration required - to find the relevant information. X4 9.00 RC4 Changelog: (see the full 9.00 Public Beta Changelog in our forum) Fixed Prospectors assigned to non-mining stations not looking for any resources (new feature in 9.00). Fixed crews not appearing reliably on medium sized ships (problem introduce…
- 9.00 RC3 now available - 1 June 2026
Release Candidate 3 is now available. Thank you, everyone, for your continued testing and for providing feedback! The full list of changes can be found below. How Do I Take Part in the Public Beta? Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 9.00 Public Beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum - no registration required - to find the relevant information. X4 9.00 RC3 Changelog: (see the full 9.00 Public Beta Changelog in our forum) Improved efficiency of attack runs against capital ships by fast M ships (problem introduced in 9.00). Fixed Kha'ak Obliterator's shields in Battle of Omicron Lyrae Timelines sce…
- 9.00 RC2 now available - 28 May 2026
We’re popping in with Release Candidate 2, which addresses some critical issues. How Do I Take Part in the Public Beta? Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 9.00 Public Beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum - no registration required - to find the relevant information. X4 9.00 RC2 Changelog: (see the full 9.00 Public Beta Changelog in our forum) Improved balancing of several Timelines scenarios by lowering requirements to achieve certain ranks. Fixed objective in Lord Prospector's Foray Timelines scenario being overwritten when player-owned ships are destroyed. Fixed Ship Interactions menu display…
- 9.00 RC1 now available - 27 May 2026
We've reached Release Candidate state for the 9.00 update. Thank you all for your testing and invaluable feedback so far. The finish line is in sight, but we still need your help with the final stretch. How Do I Take Part in the Public Beta? Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 9.00 Public Beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum - no registration required - to find the relevant information. X4 9.00 RC1 Changelog: (see the full 9.00 Public Beta Changelog in our forum) Added option to Mimic Commander's Behavior if commander is prospector (new feature in 9.00). Added Prospect assignment for station sub…
- Interview with Helge Kautz: Loremaster of the X Universe - 21 May 2026
We’re very excited to share a new episode of the Inside Egosoft podcast. Join our new host, Joey, as he speaks with members of the Egosoft team about their work and ideas. In this episode, he sits down with Helge Kautz, our loremaster. Helge is responsible for much of the worldbuilding in the X universe, having written multiple tie-in novels and being our go-to source for anything involving lore. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkaAdba3SjI If you’re interested in exploring the lore further, we encourage you to check out the X Encyclopedia on the Egosoft website, as well as the tie-in novels. For those who prefer to read, below you’ll find a breakdown of Joey’s discussion with Helge. Be sure to tune in next month for another episode! Listen to the Inside Egosoft Podcast: YouTube Spotify Apple Music Pocket Casts Helge Kautz: Loremaster of the X Universe Joey: For people who might only kno…
- 9.00 Public Beta 11 now available - 21 May 2026
9.00 Public Beta 11 is now available! Please find the full changelog below. Thank you for your continued support and feedback during this testing phase. How Do I Take Part in the Public Beta? Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 9.00 Public Beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum - no registration required - to find the relevant information. X4 9.00 Public Beta 11 Changelog: (see the full 9.00 Public Beta Changelog in our forum) Added Prospect behaviour. Removed braking distance hints from Velocity Indicator (removed incomplete feature added in 9.00). Removed mining penalty for having multiple resou…
- 9.00 Public Beta 10 now available - 12 May 2026
9.00 Public Beta 10 is now available! Please find the full changelog below. Thank you for your continued support and feedback during this testing phase. How Do I Take Part in the Public Beta? Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 9.00 Public Beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum - no registration required - to find the relevant information. X4 9.00 Public Beta 10 Changelog: (see the full 9.00 Public Beta Changelog in our forum) Added Interact menu option to repeat last order. Improved ships getting stuck while approaching dock on Raptor. Improved combat subordinates armed with missiles going for su…
- 9.00 Public Beta 9 now available - 6 May 2026
9.00 Public Beta 9 is now available! Please find the full changelog below. Thank you for your continued support and feedback during this testing phase. How Do I Take Part in the Public Beta? Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 9.00 Public Beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum - no registration required - to find the relevant information. X4 9.00 Public Beta 9 Changelog: (see the full 9.00 Public Beta Changelog in our forum) Added resource map colour information to Mining Filter menu (new feature in 9.00). Added option to edit loadouts with equipment issues in Lost Ship Replacement. Improved clari…
- 9.00 Public Beta 8 now available - 29 April 2026
9.00 Public Beta 8 is now available! Please find the full changelog below. Thank you for your continued support and feedback during this testing phase. How Do I Take Part in the Public Beta? Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 9.00 Public Beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum - no registration required - to find the relevant information. X4 9.00 Public Beta 8 Changelog: (see the full 9.00 Public Beta Changelog in our forum) Removed ability for Torus to block panels during final Torus puzzle in Torus Aeternal mission of Project Genesis story. Improved Xenon fleet composition. Improved capital ship…
- 9.00 Public Beta 7 now available - 23 April 2026
9.00 Public Beta 7 is now available! Please find the full changelog below. Additionally, alongside these improvements, we are introducing a new "FPS Style" input Profile, which you can also test. If you would like to participate in this testing, please follow this link to the Egosoft forum. Thank you for your continued support and feedback during this testing phase. How Do I Take Part in the Public Beta? Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 9.00 Public Beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum - no registration required - to find the relevant information. X4 9.00 Public Beta 7 Changelog: (see the full…
- 9.00 Public Beta 6 now available - 15 April 2026
9.00 Public Beta 6 is now available! Please find the full changelog below. Thank you for your continued support and feedback during this testing phase. How Do I Take Part in the Public Beta? Every player who owns X4: Foundations has the opportunity to download the new 9.00 Public Beta version. In order to ensure that beta participants are aware of the risks and rules involved, we ask all interested players to visit our forum, where they will find the rules and disclaimers, as well as practical instructions for participating in the beta. Follow this link to our forum - no registration required - to find the relevant information. X4 9.00 Public Beta 6 Changelog: (see the full 9.00 Public Beta Changelog in our forum) Added Resource Probe coverage setting in Map menu. Added scrap-related icons to Map legend. Improved missile usage by avoiding firing more missiles than necessary to kill targ…
