Egosoft
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Egosoft GmbH (formerly Ego Software) is a German video game developer based in Würselen, Germany. The company was founded by Bernd Lehahn in 1988.
Egosoft is best known for its X series of video games,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a series of space simulator games noted for combining open-ended gameplay, dynamic market-driven economy and compelling storyline.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The series began in 1999 with X: Beyond the Frontier. Since then, the series has expanded with three sequels and three standalone expansions; the latest being X4: Foundations, released 30 November 2018.Template:Citation needed
HistoryEdit
Egosoft was founded in Würselen by Bernd Lehahn in 1988, making it the oldest active video game company in Germany.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its first game, Hotel Detective, was released for the Amiga in June 1988.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2000, Egosoft planned a multiplayer online game called Online Universe or X Online. This project was intended to be "the next step in the evolution of Egosoft's X universe."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Egosoft has since released a number of games, yet has given little indication of the progress of this project. In 2003, Egosoft staff were working on a later version—codenamed X2OL—which Egosoft chief executive officer Bernd Lehahn described as their "long-term goal."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There is still no official information on the Online Universe, though there has been speculation that X2 and X3's 2007 uplink feature may be a positive spin-off of the project.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In late 2009, Egosoft announced that Terran Conflict completed the story started in X: Beyond the Frontier, taken by some to mean the end of the franchise. However, in March 2011 they announced on their X-Universe forums that they would be attending FedCon XX in Düsseldorf on 28 April 2011, and would show preview footage of their current project,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> previously only referred to by the codename TNBT (The Next Big Thing). However, on 20 April 2011, they released a trailer officially announcing X Rebirth, initially slated for a Q4 2011 release. X Rebirth will take place in the X Universe after a major catastrophe (the shutdown of the series' network of jump gates, thus starting a new chapter in the X Universe separate from the original plot line. Rebirth missed its first two proposed release dates (Q4 2011 and 2012) and was eventually released 15 November 2013.<ref name="X Rebirth release date">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Games developedEdit
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Hotel Detective | Amiga | Euroline | |
| 1990 | Fatal Heritage | Delta Konzept | ||
| R1 R2 | Promotional game for Reemtsma | |||
| 1991 | Aquarius Game | Promotional game for Aquarius | ||
| Pepsi: All Over the World | Promotional game for Pepsi | |||
| 1992 | Light American Spacegame | Promotional game for Philip Morris International | ||
| Come Together (Around the World) | Promotional game for Peter Stuyvesant | |||
| Ugh! | Play Byte | |||
| 1993 | Elefanten! | Promotion Software | Promotional game for World Wide Fund for Nature | |
| Ketchup Connection | Amiga, MS-DOS | Promotional game for Kraft Ketchup | ||
| Flies: Attack on Earth | Rainbow Arts | |||
| 1994 | Balduin: Run for Fun | MS-DOS | Delta Konzept | Promotional game for the Techniker Krankenkasse |
| Abenteuer Europa | Tevox | Promotional game for the Social Democratic Party of Germany | ||
| 1995 | Heiermanns Return | Promotional game for the Sparkasse of Gelsenkirchen | ||
| 1996 | Imperium Romanum | Rainbow Arts | ||
| No Future? | Microsoft Windows | Delta Konzept | Promotional game for the Umweltbundesamt | |
| 1999 | Power Pool | Data Becker | ||
| X: Beyond the Frontier | THQ, Egosoft | Entry in the X video game series | ||
| 2000 | X-Tension | |||
| 2003 | X2: The Threat | Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows | Deep Silver, Egosoft | |
| 2005 | X3: Reunion | |||
| 2008 | X3: Terran Conflict | |||
| 2011 | X3: Albion Prelude | |||
| 2013 | X Rebirth | Egosoft | ||
| 2014 | X Rebirth: The Teladi Outpost | DLC for X Rebirth | ||
| 2016 | X Rebirth: Home of Light | |||
| 2017 | X Rebirth: VR Edition | Microsoft Windows | ||
| 2018 | X4: Foundations<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Linux, Microsoft Windows | Entry in the X video game series |
| 2020 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
DLC for X4: Foundations | |
| 2021 | X3: Farnham's Legacy<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows | Entry in the X video game series |
| 2021 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Linux, Microsoft Windows | DLC for X4: Foundations |
| 2022 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | ||
| 2023 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | ||
| 2024 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | ||
| 2025 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |