List of 4X video games

Part of a series on
Strategy video games
Subgenres 4X Auto battler Multiplayer online battle arena Real-time strategy Time management Real-time tactics Tactical RPG Tower defense Turn-based strategy Turn-based tactics Artillery Wargame
Lists List of 4X video games List of artillery video games List of grand strategy video games List of massively multiplayer online real-time strategy games List of massively multiplayer online turn-based strategy games List of multiplayer online battle arena video games List of real-time strategy video games List of real-time tactics video games List of tactical role-playing video games List of turn-based strategy video games List of turn-based tactics video games
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4X is a subgenre of strategy video games. The term is a loose acronym of "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate", coined in 1993 to describe the gameplay of Master of Orion. 4X games usually feature complex simulations of scientific research, economics, diplomacy, and social dynamics. Unlike computer wargames, they usually have more ways to win than through warfare, and they model the creation and evolution of an empire from its beginning. Games prior to Master of Orion have been retroactively identified as 4X games. Early precursors include the board games Outreach and Stellar Conquest, both published in the 1970s.^[1] Some early strategy video games, such as Andromeda Conquest (1982) and Cosmic Balance II (1983) incorporated what would later become elements of 4X games, but the first 4X video game was Reach for the Stars (1983).^[2][1] Because of the genre's focus on mouse-and-keyboard control schemes, most 4X games are available on personal computers, but examples exist on other platforms.^[3] Some 4X games include elements of real-time strategy, but 4X games are typically slow-paced.^[1]