EGOSOFT unveils the next chapter in its long-standing space simulation franchise. X4: Cradle of Humanity is the second expansion for the latest game in the series, X4: Foundations, which was released for PC in November 2018.

The teaser trailer for X4: Cradle of Humanity will premiere today at 23:45 CEST / 10:45pm BST / 5:45pm EDT / 2:45pm PDT during the gamescom studio live show, produced by IGN, over at www.youtube.com/IGN.

Later this year, X4: Cradle of Humanity will bring the X series back to Earth, significantly increasing the size of the game's universe with new sectors, and welcoming two Terran factions to X4: Foundations, along with their economy, ships, weapons and stations. New game-starts will introduce the identity and political stance of the Terran factions, as well as giving an alternative perspective on existing story developments in X4: Foundations.

X4: Cradle of Humanity will also shed light on what has happened to Earth in the decades since the jump-gate shutdown. Furthermore, a certain pirate faction that is well known to fans of the series will be making a dramatic comeback!

X4: Cradle of Humanity will be accompanied by the biggest free update to X4: Foundations yet. Update 4.0 will be made available to all owners of the base game and is set to further enhance X4: Foundations in a number of ways, including major new gameplay features (e.g. a new terraforming feature) and wide-ranging visual improvements (e.g. volumetric fog). Details of these, and on other new elements of the 4.0 update, will be disclosed at a later stage.

Join us for a livestream on Friday, August 28th, 2020 at 7pm CEST / 6pm BST / 1pm EDT / 10am PDT at www.twitch.tv/egosoftofficial to find out more about our plans for the future of X4: Foundations and X4: Cradle of Humanity.

X4: Cradle of Humanity is now listed on Steam and can be added to players' wish-lists. Alternatively, by purchasing the X4: Foundations Collector's Edition bundle, space adventurers can secure access to the expansion when it is released as well as benefitting from a discount over buying it separately.

We have all had to adapt our lives to extraordinary circumstances this year, and gamescom, the world's largest event for games, is no different. This year the event will take place in a purely digital form - and we will be there! As an official gamescom partner, EGOSOFT is taking part in the event's programme, but of course there is more to it than that, so here is a brief overview of our planned activities around gamescom 2020:

Unveiling of the second expansion for X4: Foundations
Get ready to hear early details of the second expansion for X4: Foundations. Following the release of X4: Split Vendetta in spring 2020, we will be giving a first insight into the next chapter of our current game at gamescom 2020. Whether you're on Steam, in our forums, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Reddit, keep your eyes peeled to avoid missing anything!

Indie Arena Booth Online
For a number of years now, the Indie Arena Booth (IAB) has been one of the big crowd-pullers at gamescom. Dozens of indie developers from all over the world gather at this large stand, where a carefully-curated selection of games is available to try. Of course, the IAB will not take place in its usual form this year, but you can visit the booth as part of an online game. From the evening of August 27th 2020, you can attend the virtual Indie Arena Booth at online.indiearenabooth.com - we will be there too, with a neat spaceship booth. We look forward to your visit!

Livestream on Friday, August 28th, 2020
The first couple of gamescom days will be rounded off on Friday evening with a livestream on www.twitch.tv/egosoftofficial. Following our usual format, we will give you an insight into current development progress on X4: Foundations, starting at 7pm CEST / 6pm BST / 1pm EDT / 10am PDT. And, of course, we will talk about our plans for the second expansion and the next big update. Join us!

Reddit AMA on Saturday, August 29th, 2020
Working on the assumption that not all your questions will have been answered during the livestream on Friday evening, you will have another opportunity, a day later, to learn more about the current and future development of X4: Foundations. EGOSOFT founder and Lead Game Designer, Bernd Lehahn, will be available to answer questions in a Reddit AMA starting at 9pm CEST / 8pm BST / 3pm EDT / noon PDT. Please keep an eye on our official channels to find a direct link to the AMA on the day. In the meantime we invite you to join our subreddit at /r/X4Foundations.

We hope that there will be something for everyone on these unconventional gamescom days this year. We look forward to interacting with you and will be interested in your reaction to our plans.

See you around at gamescom 2020!