X2: The Threat

2003 Egosoft Strategy

Windows 11With a fix

MacNot sold

LinuxGold

Steam DeckUnsupported

Gamicality score

Metacritic 724

OpenCritic Not rated

Steam players 781

How it’s combined

Playability today

2.5

Runs today3.5/5

Design today1.5/5

Steam user reviews

Very Positive

83%

497 reviews1

Get it on Steam Watch the trailer

Facts checked November 1, 2026

Does X2: The Threat run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11With a fix

Runs with a fix. See the steps below.1

Mac (Apple Silicon)Not sold

No Mac version is sold.

LinuxGold

Through Proton. ProtonDB: Gold, runs perfectly after tweaks.3

Steam DeckUnsupported

Unsupported, as rated by Valve.1

Played X2: The Threat lately?

One click, no account, so the next player knows. How we check where it runs

How to get X2: The Threat running today

If the game crashes at the Brennan's Triumph story cutscene, cap the frame rate at about 60 in the graphics driver and try windowed 1024×768 with alternate video playback (Steam Community).
If a story cutscene still crashes, rename the mov folder in the game directory and create an empty mov folder so the cutscene is skipped (Steam Community).
If jump gates take a minute to load, cap the frame rate at 60, for example with Radeon Chill on AMD cards (Steam Community).

Synopsis

X2: The Threat is an open-ended space game where players fly, trade, fight and build across a large universe of linked sectors. A story campaign follows a pilot caught up in a conflict with the alien Kha'ak, but players are free to ignore it and build a trading empire, a fleet of ships and their own factories.

Developer: Egosoft
Released: 2003
Genre: Strategy
Where to get it: Steam

Reception

Critics praised the detailed graphics, the huge living economy and the freedom to play as a trader, pirate or builder, and some called it the best space trader since Elite. Many reviews also called it slow to start, hard to learn without a real tutorial and saddled with a complex, rough interface, weak cutscenes and poor voice acting. Players today still value its sandbox, while recent Steam threads report a story cutscene that crashes the game and long load times at jump gates on modern graphics cards.

Trailer from Steam

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Runs today

3.5/5

Sold or given away today by an official source
Needs fan patches to run well on Windows 11
?Not confirmed yetSingle-player works without an internet connection
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
All of its content still works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
The digital releases leave out the Bonus Package, but Egosoft still offers the full bonus plugin archive as a free download (PCGamingWiki, Egosoft).
Supports modern resolutions and widescreen
Widescreen and 4K work, and the HUD scales properly (PCGamingWiki).
Full controller support or remappable controls
Controllers work with remapping, though not for every function (PCGamingWiki).
Not Steam Deck Verified or Playable
No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
Known game-breaking bugs in the current version
A story cutscene at Brennan's Triumph still crashes to desktop for many players on modern systems and blocks the campaign without workarounds (Steam Community).

Design today

1.5/5

Controls feel awkward on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
Ship, trading and fleet orders all run through hotkeys and layered menus. One review struggled with the ship and trading controls for hours, and another found the keys intuitive fairly soon but noted that some essential shortcuts are missing from the manual. Source: worthplaying.com, pcstats.com.
Menus, text or interface are hard to read on today's screens
Reviewers called the interface complex and rough, with an unintuitive HUD and key information buried in tabbed text menus, even though the HUD scales properly at 4K. Source: worthplaying.com, metacritic.com, pcgamingwiki.com.
Saving is harsh: few saves or checkpoints, progress gets lost
Saving is free only while docked at a station; anywhere else the game asks for a bought insurance item first, and one reviewer complained about the docked-only rule. Source: worthplaying.com, steamcommunity.com.
Hard to make progress without a guide
Critics found the tutorial close to useless, telling players to do things it never explains, and one named the lack of a meaningful tutorial as the game's main problem. Source: worthplaying.com, metacritic.com.
Pacing drags: grind, filler or forced backtracking
The opening hours are slow and confusing, and reviewers warned that players who stop early will likely judge the game mediocre; the sandbox only opens up after serious time investment. Source: worthplaying.com, pcstats.com.
Camera and movement never fight the player
Flying works from the cockpit, and an autopilot can dock at stations so manual approaches stay optional; there is no field of view setting. Source: pcstats.com, pcstats.com, pcgamingwiki.com.