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,^[2] a series of space simulator games noted for combining open-ended gameplay, dynamic market-driven economy and compelling storyline.^[3][4] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Egosoft was founded in Würselen by Bernd Lehahn in 1988, making it the oldest active video game company in Germany.^[5] Its first game, Hotel Detective, was released for the Amiga in June 1988.^[6]

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."^[7] 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."^[8][9] 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.^[10]

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,^[11] 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.^[12]