X4: Foundations News

We're thrilled to announce that we'll be making our first appearance at PAX East in Boston! From March 26 to March 29, you can find us at Booth #14085 in Hall B.

Come hang out with the Egosoft team, play X4: Foundations on our HOTAS demo station, and explore the many other amazing games and events throughout the convention.

Visit east.paxsite.com to grab your PAX East badges.

Egosoft have announced that X4: Foundations is finally getting cross-platform Steam Cloud saves, but desktop Linux users may need to make some backups.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/02/x4-foundations-is-getting-cross-platform-cloud-saves-possible-breakage-coming-for-linux/

UPDATE: These changes have now been applied. Please take a moment to review the instructions in the original news post and follow them carefully.

We're preparing some changes in order to support cross-platform cloud saves between Windows, Linux, and Steam Deck for X4: Foundations. For the vast majority of players, this transition will be completely seamless and will require no action.

The changes can, however, affect players who regularly play on Linux computers. Steam Deck players are not affected, unless a native Linux runtime was explicitly selected in the Steam Deck settings for X4.

The changes are planned to happen on Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 15:00 CET (14:00 UTC, 6am PST, 9am EST, 22:00 CST - see in your timezone).

[h3]What this means:[/h3]

• After these changes, the Steam Cloud will sync savegames and game settings across Windows, Linux, and Steam Deck.
  
• For most players, nothing needs to be done.
• For Linux desktop players, there is a risk that saves and settings get lost. To avoid that, please see the instructions below.

[h3]Instructions:[/h3]
If you have X4 savegames on a Linux machine that you would like to keep, please make backups of them. We highly recommend doing that before the changes take effect. Making backups is generally also a good idea on Windows. See the save locations below.

Additionally, after our changes are in place, please follow these steps:

• Restart the Steam client on your Linux machine
  
• Run X4 on your Linux machine
  
• Exit X4 (Steam will update the files in your Steam Cloud)
  

This makes sure that your saves and settings get migrated properly in the Steam Cloud. If you do not follow these steps, there is a risk that they will get lost when you first play the game on a different machine.

[h3]Locations of saves and settings:[/h3]
Windows:

Documents\\Egosoft\\X4\\

Linux:

~/.config/EgoSoft/X4/

Steam Deck (default Proton runtime):

~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/392160/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/Egosoft/X4/

stands for a unique number that represents your Steam account.

If you cannot find your saves in the locations above, you may still find them stored in the Steam Cloud. You can manually download them from the Steam Cloud website and place them in your local savegame folder.

[h3]Additional info:[/h3]
Previously, the Steam Cloud had distinct storage locations for Windows files and for Linux files. This meant that saves did not automatically sync across the two platforms. (At the moment, the Steam Deck uses the Windows version of X4 by default, so it syncs with a Windows PC, but not with a Linux PC.)

With the changes, both Linux and Windows save files will be stored in the Steam Cloud with a Windows-like path. Upon syncing files from the Steam Cloud to a Linux machine, the paths will be translated to the corresponding Linux location on the disk, so that files are downloaded from and uploaded to the Windows location. Linux players will need to play the game at least once on Linux, so that Steam will upload any existing Linux files to the new cloud location.

These changes are an important step toward improving Linux and Steam Deck support for X4: Foundations (particularly, allowing us to use the native Linux version on the Steam Deck by default). They also enable a number of fixes and improvements that we’ve wanted to deliver for quite some time.

Thank you for your patience and your support.

We’re starting the year with a hotfix aimed at resolving a reported memory leak. The update is now available on Steam.

If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check out our Xmas Xlog video, where Bernd talks about some of our plans for 2026:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

As 2025 comes to a close, we're celebrating a very special milestone: seven years of X4: Foundations! In a brand-new XLOG video, Egosoft founder and Managing Director Bernd Lehahn sits down to look back at another full year of updates and new content - including our recent Ship Packs - while also sharing a first glimpse of what's coming next.

To mark this anniversary, the X4 base game is now 90% off during the Steam Winter Sale. If you've been waiting to bring friends into the X universe, now is the perfect moment. There are, of course, also discounts on expansions as well as previous titles in the series. Check out our developer page on Steam to find all current deals!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

This XLOG also features several development insights, including:

[h3]A First Tease of Combat and Ship Changes[/h3]
As part of the upcoming 9.00 update, we are beginning to revisit and refresh ship models created many years ago. With our art pipeline having evolved significantly since the early days of X4 development, it is time for older small and medium ships to receive some well-deserved attention. This transition to our current standards not only supports future facelifts and new ship features, but also allows us to rethink weapon compatibility and make more impactful balancing decisions.

At the same time, the team is working on a comprehensive rebalance of X4's large arsenal of weapons, turrets, and shields. Together with improvements to weapon mechanics, combat AI behaviours, and the user interface - including a new way of issuing high-priority combat orders - these changes aim to make space battles more dynamic, tactical, and enjoyable.

[h3]Graphics Engine Improvements[/h3]
Bernd takes a moment to dive deeper into DLSS Frame Generation, a feature we introduced earlier this year, explaining how it works and why it is particularly beneficial for a game like X4.

[h3]What's next?[/h3]
Development of our next major free update for X4: Foundations (9.00) is progressing steadily, and we're aiming to kick off the Public Beta phase in early 2026. As usual, we will dive deeper into all the improvements and changes that will come with this next major update once the Public Beta phase starts.

Thank you for an amazing seventh year of X4!
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and see you in space!