X (video game series)

X is a science fiction space trading and combat simulator series created by German developer Egosoft. The series is set in the X-Universe where several races populate a number of worlds connected by jumpgates.

Hundreds of millions of years ago, several races (nicknamed "the Ancients") transcended their physical form, combining into a single collective consciousness, and built billions of jumpgates throughout the universe. Their purpose was to limit the development of faster-than-light travel in other races, inducing them to rely on the gates to explore the universe. This enables the Ancients to act as shepherds of life, preventing wars between civilizations and monitoring the development of new ones.^{1: D1–D18}

However, the Ancient failed to notice the rise of humanity and never placed jumpgates in the Solar System, so they were blindsided when mankind discovered the principle behind wormholes by chance in 2022.^1: D28 Over the course of the 21st century, humans experimented with their own jumpgate technology and successfully built a pair linking Earth and Mars, paving the way for the colonization of the Solar System and beyond: one of the two jumpgates was launched towards Alpha Centauri in an attempt to claim a foothold in interstellar space, but in 2041, Earth lost contact with it, and while trying to re-establish the connection, instead locked onto Ancient-made ones, causing them to stumble into the X-Universe.^1: B4–B6 In response, the Ancients rearranged some gates to contain humans in their own isolated network devoid of other life. In 2045, humanity began to explore this sub-network, finding plenty of suitable planets for terraforming and colonisation. Self-replicating AI ships, the Terraformers, were sent out into the network to find and terraform planets, but in 2145, ships corrupted by a final update meant to install a self-destruct protocol (which was both badly-made and sabotaged by the disgruntled head of the terraforming project) started targeting inhabited worlds, killing billions. Earth was saved by Nathan Ridley Gunne, the commander of its space navy, who lured the Terraformer fleet out of the Solar System before the human jumpgate was destroyed behind them. Earth was saved, but the stranded colonists discovered the alien gates now led to a completely different network.^{1: B4–B13}

This part of humanity now separated from Earth survived and formed a new civilisation called the Argon Federation, a name coming from a corruption of "R. Gunne".^{1: B14–B15} The Argon gradually lost their cultural connection with Earth, even adopting a new year counting system (NT, for New Time) in 2170 and starting the narrative that Earth never existed, partly to prevent the remaining Terraformers from finding a new way back to the Solar System. Those that resisted this decision kept archives of "Old Earth" in hope of an eventual reunion, eventually evolving into what was considered a fringe cult in Argon society, called the Goner.^{1: B17–B19} The new configuration of this network, while still limited to the Milky Way, did not leave humans alone however, and the Argon first encountered an alien species, the Paranid, in 130 NT. The Boron followed in 323 NT, the Split in 324 NT, and the Teladi in 550 NT. Over the centuries, attacks from Terraformers, now known as the Xenon, would occasionally flare up, eventually leading into a war called the Xenon Conflict in 225 NT. Due to another war, the Boron Campaign, breaking out between the first four races in the wake of the Split first contact, all five gradually formed the Community of Planets to try and maintain peace between themselves.^{1: B20–B23}

Around 730 NT (2912), during a new buildup of Xenon forces, a jumpship from Earth piloted by Kyle William Brennan suddenly appeared in the Teladi capital system Seizewell,^1: B24 kicking off the events of the games proper.

The X-Universe features several sentient species:

• Boron: A pacifist, squid-like aquatic race led by a matriarchal monarchy known as the Queendom of Boron.^{1: E7–E10} Their homeworld is Nishala, an ammonia-rich ocean planet in the Kingdom End system.
• Humans: Divided into two main factions:
  • Argon: Humans who are descended from the remains of the fleet that saved Earth in the Terraformer War, and the colonists trapped with them. They named themselves after their heroic captain Nathan R. Gunne, who lured the Terraformers away from the Earth and discovered what would be chosen as the new home system, Sonra IV (eventually renamed to Argon Prime). The Argon Federation's government decided centuries ago that the pain of separation with Earth was best dealt with by changing the official version of history so that humans in the X-Universe believed they evolved there, which would also make it harder for the Terraformers to find Earth again.^1: E5–E6
    • Argons who believed in Earth, despite it being officially just a myth, formed the Goner sect (also named after Gunne) to save as much information on it as they could; after it is reconnected to the X-Universe, they try to become a diplomatic intermediary between the two factions.
  • Terrans: Humans who still live in the Solar System, known as the Sol Protectorate in X4. Due to their intense fear of a new Terraformer invasion, they are the most technologically-advanced faction after the Ancients, and much more militaristic than the Argon.
• Kha'ak: An insectoid race that started war with the Argon in X2: The Threat by completely destroying the sector of President's End.^{1: E11–E18} They seem incapable of communicating with any other race, and are named after a parasitic monster from Split folklore. The Kha'ak ignore the confines of the jumpgate network due to having a jumpdrive of their own design, as their homeworld in Kha'ak Sector 926 (which appears to have been destroyed) also does not have any gate.
• Paranid: A large, three-eyed, flightless bird-like race with a strict religion that worships mathematics, especially dimensional ones, ruled by the "Xaar" pontifex as the Godrealm of the Paranid.^{1: E15–E14} They are the most scientifically-advanced race of the Community of Planets. They are in cold war with the Argon ever since the Paranid refused to form an alliance with them in the Xenon Conflict. Their homeworld is Eighth Eye, a desertic super-Earth in the Paranid Prime system, due to which they also possess immense strength and extreme environmental resistance.
• Split : A humanoid tribal race known to be strong, hot-headed, and violent; they are ruled by the head of the most powerful family in the Great Patriarchy of the Split. They only respect the Paranid, who are even stronger, and absolutely despise the Boron for their pacifism, to the point of declaring war on them upon first contact with them.^{1: E19–E22} They abandoned their homeworld after their wars made it uninhabitable, with their primary system Family Pride merely serving as the capital of their empire.
• Teladi: A reptilian race that values trade and profits over everything else;^{1: E23–E28} they have a corporate government–the Teladi Company–and are the biggest economic power of the Community of Planets. Their homeworld is Ianamus Zura, a swampy planet that was lost in the network configuration after the First Terraformer War, but was found again before the events of X2.
• Xenon: A self-replicating artificial intelligence evolved from the Terraformers created by the Terrans in an effort to colonise worlds. Now hostile to all life due to damaged programming, they destroy anything they come across othen than themselves, with most worlds they occupy overterraformed to the point of being reduced to lava planets. Named by the Argon as a shorthand for "xenomorph", initially used as a codeword for unidentified alien ships.

The series, which was launched in 1999 on the Windows platform, consists of five base games: X: Beyond the Frontier, X2: The Threat, X3: Reunion, X Rebirth and X4: Foundations. The series games are expanded by sequels that both add features and extend the plot. A plot can be undertaken in all games except X-Tension where the player takes part in missions to unfold events.

In 2010, Egosoft released the X-Superbox, a pack containing all the X series games up to that date: X: Beyond the Frontier, X-Tension, X2: The Threat, X3: Reunion, and X3: Terran Conflict. Included in the pack was extra missions within Terran Conflict.²³ Additionally, owners of the pack also obtained X3: Albion Prelude for free when it was released in 2011.⁴

So far, six tie-in books have been written by Helge Kautz, all in German:

• X: Farnhams Legende, 2000, Panini, ISBN 3-8332-1204-7
• X2: Nopileos, 2004, Panini, ISBN 3-8332-1041-9
• X3: Yoshiko, 2006, Panini, ISBN 3-8332-1344-2
• X3: Hüter der Tore, 2009, Panini, ISBN 978-3-8332-1793-7
• X3: Wächter der Erde, 2009, Panini, ISBN 978-3-8332-1942-9
• X Rebirth: Plutarch Rising, 2013, Panini, ISBN 978-3-8332-2703-5

Additionally, two English language novels by were published by Trafford Publishing in 2004 as part of an anthology X-Universe Volume One (ISBN 978-1-4120-1955-2): Dominion by Darren "Steel" Astles and Rogue Testament by Steve Miller.¹⁵¹⁶