X4: Foundations — Steam Gift

X4: Foundations — a space sandbox that lives without you

X4: Foundations by Egosoft isn't just another space sim — it's a whole simulated universe where economy, factions and wars keep running even when you sit still and watch the stars. You can start with a single small ship and a handful of credits and end up owning a trading empire with dozens of stations, shipyards and battle fleets. There's no single “right” path: haul energy cells peacefully between sectors, turn pirate, or build an industrial chain and squeeze rivals on price. On this page you get the game as a Steam gift — we deliver it straight to your account.

What X4: Foundations is

It's the seventh major game in the X series and Egosoft's most ambitious space simulator. The genre is best described as “trading, combat, building and management in open space, first-person.” The hallmark of X4 is seamlessness: you can personally take the helm of any ship, from a nimble fighter to a heavy carrier, fly out into open space, dock and walk around a station, then a second later open the galaxy map and command your whole empire like a strategist. The universe is genuinely simulated: NPC ships actually fly, trade, mine and fight, prices shift with supply and demand, and your actions can reshape the balance of power between factions.

Why X4 stands out

X4 delivers the freedom space-sim fans crave. A few things that make it special:

• A living economy. Every good is mined, processed and sold by someone. Plug into that chain or build your own from scratch.
• Your own stations. The station builder lets you assemble modular megabases — from a modest dock to a sprawling industrial hub.
• Fleets you direct. Hire pilots, assign managers, issue orders — and watch your empire run itself.
• Battles at scale. From a fighter duel to capital-ship clashes with interception, boarding and reinforcements.

It's a slow-burn game: the first hours teach you the ropes, then it hooks you for hundreds of hours because there's always a next goal — a new ship, a new sector, a new factory.

X4: Foundations or X4: Discovery Pack — which to pick

This listing has two variants, and both include the base game inside — no separate copy needed:

• X4: Foundations — the plain base version. The full sandbox, economy, building and fleets. Perfect if you want to start from the foundation.
• X4: Discovery Pack — the same base plus the X4: Timelines expansion. Timelines adds a set of standalone story “time-skip” scenarios across key moments of X universe history, with special conditions and rewards. Take this one if you want more content and stories right away.

If you're unsure — Discovery Pack gives more in a single order, while plain Foundations suits anyone who wants exactly the core game.

How you get the game: a Steam gift

X4 is delivered here as a Steam gift, and the process is as simple as it gets. You provide your Steam friend invite link and your account region. Our bot then adds itself to your friends, sends the gift, and after delivery removes itself from your friend list automatically. You don't need to accept the friend request manually — the bot handles everything. Delivery usually takes just a couple of minutes from checkout. Steam Guard is not required — the gift can be accepted even on an account without it. All that's left is to open the gift notification in Steam, click “Accept” — and the game appears in your library.

Gift region and your library

Steam gifts come with two conditions worth checking up front so everything goes smoothly:

• Matching region. Your Steam account region must match the gift region. If they differ, Steam simply won't let you accept it. So pick the variant that fits your region and enter your account region honestly at checkout.
• Game not already owned. Steam won't let you accept a gift for a game you already own. Make sure X4: Foundations isn't on your account yet.

One more detail: your profile privacy must allow friend requests — otherwise the bot can't reach you.

Where to play: Windows, Linux, Steam Deck

X4: Foundations officially supports Windows and Linux, and it runs well on Steam Deck too. Keep in mind it's a serious simulator: as your empire grows to dozens of stations and large fleets, the game starts to load your CPU and RAM noticeably, so some hardware headroom helps. Early on, though, the entry bar for hardware is fairly forgiving.

Similar games in space

Love the scale of open space? Check out Elite Dangerous with its one-to-one flight simulation, No Man's Sky with endless procedural planets, and the fast-paced action of Everspace 2. Each has its own character, but they all share a love of the stars.