More than a month has passed since we unveiled the next expansion for X4: Foundations at gamescom 2020. X4: Cradle of Humanity brings the X series back to Earth and expands the game's universe with new sectors and two Terran factions, including their economies, ships, weapons and stations. The expansion tells new stories and introduces the identity and political stance of the Terran factions, as well as giving an alternative perspective on existing story developments in X4: Foundations.

New release window – Q1 2021
We start with the not-so-good news. Although only about six weeks have passed since our unveiling of X4: Cradle of Humanity, it has become clear during that time that our originally announced goal of a release by the end of 2020 will not be achievable.

We are currently aiming for a release of X4: Cradle of Humanity in the first quarter of 2021. We apologize for this delay, but we are absolutely sure that this decision will be good for the expansion, and will improve the quality of X4: Cradle of Humanity to meet both your and our own expectations. We will, of course, keep you informed about the further development progress of X4: Cradle of Humanity and will provide you with further insights in the coming weeks.

A new ship - but whose is it?
To keep you excited for X4: Cradle of Humanity in spite of the postponement, we have decided to show you one of the new ships that will find its way into the game through the expansion.

Unusual, isn't it? We don't want to give too much away at this point - but you may already have an idea who this ship might belong to? We are looking forward to reading your theories in the forums, on Reddit or on our social media channels.

3.30 stability patch on the way
A new patch for the current 3.30 version of X4: Foundations will be available for download very soon. This is purely a stability patch, which means that it does not include any gameplay changes or new features. "3.30 Hotfix 1", as the patch is officially called, fixes, among other things, a display corruption experienced by players with AMD Radeon™ RX 5600 XT graphics cards with the Glow option enabled. This patch will go through a short Public Beta period before full release, and you are all invited to take part! Visit bit.ly/x4foundationsbeta for details on how to do so.

New merchandise now available
We have added two new merch items to our shop at bit.ly/x-merch in the past few weeks. In addition to our previously available Split and Teladi designs, you’ll now find a neutral motif with the X4: Foundations logo for t-shirts and hoodies. A cap with the X4 logo on the front is also new, and you can choose from eight different colors! Have a look at bit.ly/x-merch to see if there is something for you.