4X is a subgenre of strategy-based computer and board games, and include both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay involves building an empire. Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of non-military routes to supremacy.
Imperium Galactica is a 4X video game, developed by Digital Reality. The same company would later make its sequel, Imperium Galactica II, in 1999. Imperium Galactica was published and distributed by GT Interactive in 1997. The soundtrack is the work of Tamás Kreiner. Nexus: The Jupiter Incident, developed by the Hungarian-based Mithis Entertainment, was originally planned and designed as Imperium Galactica 3 but in development renamed and refocussed to a real-time tactics game. The game was re-released in 2016 on GOG.com with support for Windows.
Star Wars: Empire at War is a 2006 real-time strategy video game developed by Petroglyph Games and published by LucasArts. Set between Episode III and Episode IV, it focuses on the fledgling struggle between the Empire and the Rebels. It uses Petroglyph's game engine Alamo. In October 2006, an expansion titled Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption was released. On May 31, 2014, online functionality, including network multiplayer and wireless chat, was discontinued after Glu Mobile's purchase of GameSpy and the subsequent shutdown of all game servers. As of September 1, 2017, the multiplayer has been re-enabled on the Steam version as well as workshop support being added.
Star Wars: Battlefront II is a 2005 first-person shooter and third-person shooter video game based on the Star Wars film franchise. Developed by Pandemic Studios and published by LucasArts, it is a sequel to 2004's Star Wars: Battlefront and the second game in the Star Wars: Battlefront series. The game was released in PAL regions on October 31, 2005, on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable (PSP), Microsoft Windows, and Xbox platforms, and in North America on November 1 of the same year. It was released on the PlayStation Store on October 20, 2009, for download on the PSP. The PSP version was developed by Savage Entertainment.
Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is a 4X turn-based strategy by Stardock for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to the original Galactic Civilizations, and was released at retail and on Stardock's online subscription service, TotalGaming.net, on February 21, 2006. An expansion, Dark Avatar, was released in February 2007. A second expansion, Twilight of the Arnor, was released in April 2008.
Rebel Space was the second play-by-email game offered as part of a major commercial online service. It ran on Prodigy from 1992 to 1995. The game was developed by Stormfront Studios, designed by Don Daglow and programmed by Mark Buchignani.
Auto Assault was a massively multiplayer online game, developed by NetDevil and published by NCSOFT. It combined vehicular combat with role-playing elements, allowing the player to explore a post-apocalyptic future in customizable cars, motorcycles, semis, and tanks. It took inspiration, in part, from the Mad Max series of films.
Twilight Imperium is a strategy board game produced by Fantasy Flight Games. It was designed by Christian T. Petersen and was first released in 1997. The game is in its fourth edition (2017), which has large changes over previous editions. It is known for the length of its gameplay, and its in-depth strategy.
Sins of a Solar Empire is a 2008 science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Ironclad Games and published by Stardock Entertainment for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is a real-time strategy (RTS) game that incorporates some elements from 4X games; its makers describe it as "RT4X". Players are given control of a spacefaring empire in the distant future, and are tasked with conquering star systems using military, economic and diplomatic means.
Starfleet I: The War Begins is a 1984 strategy computer game designed by Trevor Sorensen and developed by Interstel. It was released for Apple II, DOS and Commodore 64. Versions for the Commodore 128 Atari ST and Atari 8-bit family were released in 1986 and versions for the Amiga and Macintosh were released in 1987. The game was successful enough to spawn sequels which are collectively known as the Star Fleet series.
Eve Online is a player-driven persistent-world massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in a science fiction space setting. Since its release on May 6, 2003 the developer CCP Games has added a total of twenty-one expansions to the game. CCP provides expansions free of charge to its subscribers. This article highlights the expansions and changes introduced to the game.
Pardus is a graphical browser-based MMORPG written in PHP and C/C++ and set in a futuristic universe where players interact and compete in space. It is a persistent-universe, open-ended game with a player-driven economy. Players travel through hundreds of "sectors" or solar systems while trading, building or battling with Non-Player Characters (NPCs) and other players. There are dozens of spacecraft models in Pardus, which can be customized with different weapons, armor and other equipment. Pardus characters do not have a defined 'class'.
Galactic Command is the third series of space exploration video games developed by 3000AD, Inc.
War 3010: The Revolution is a turn-based strategy video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, developed by American studio Advanced Productions, that takes place in the year 3010. It was released in 1996 to an exclusively North American market. It is the sequel to War 2410.
Kabam is an interactive entertainment company founded in 2006 and headquartered in Vancouver, BC. with offices in San Francisco, CA and Austin, Texas. The company creates, develops and publishes massively multiplayer social games (MMSG’s) such as Marvel Contest of Champions and Transformers: Forged to Fight for mobile devices. Before expanding into gaming, Kabam established itself as a social applications developer with entertainment and sports communities totaling more than 60 million users. Kabam markets freemium games for mobile devices, and social networking services,. The company's previous investors included Alibaba, Canaan Partners, Google, MGM, Intel, Pinnacle Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Warner Bros. and others.
Coffee Stain Studios AB is a Swedish video game developer based in Skövde. Founded in 2010 by nine University of Skövde students, the company is best known for Goat Simulator, which was released in April 2014, and Satisfactory, released as an early access game in 2019. Their parent holding company also operates Coffee Stain Publishing, a publisher, and majority-owns developers Coffee Stain North and Lavapotion. In November 2018, the Coffee Stain group was acquired by THQ Nordic AB.
THQ Nordic GmbH is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were renamed THQ Nordic in August 2016 after the parent company had acquired the "THQ" trademark in 2014. THQ Nordic's core portfolio comprises assets that were acquired from other developers and publishers, such as from JoWooD Entertainment and its subsidiaries DreamCatcher Interactive and The Adventure Company in 2011, THQ in 2013, and NovaLogic in 2016. THQ Nordic has acquired and established several subsidiary studios, including Black Forest Games, Bugbear Entertainment, Gunfire Games, HandyGames, Piranha Bytes, Purple Lamp Studios and Rainbow Studios.
Clash of Clans is a free-to-play mobile strategy video game developed and published by Finnish game developer Supercell. The game was released for iOS platforms on August 2, 2012, and on Google Play for Android on October 7, 2013.
Imperium Galactic War is a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game by Vavel Games, originally developed and published by Kabam in 2013. The game runs on a freemium model, and is supported through the use of microtransactions.
Star Trek Fleet Command is a 4X "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate" mobile strategy game created by Irish developer Digit Game Studios and published by Scopely and CBS Interactive. Players can explore star systems, build ships, mine resources, level up, complete missions, join alliances and battle other gamers.
