X2: The Threat

X²: The Threat is the sequel to X: Beyond the Frontier. The player takes the role of Julian Gardna, a space pirate in search of his missing father. A new mysterious and hostile alien race, the Khaak, emerge on the horizon, and Julian will have to learn about their origins, intentions, and a possible connection to his father's disappearance.

Like its predecessor, the game is an open-ended space trading and combat simulation. The player is generally free to go anywhere in the vast X-Universe, provided he has enough resources and credits. The game features a dynamic market economy: prices rise and fall depending on many factors, which the player should consider before making purchases. The player can acquire weapons, equipment, entire space ships, and eventually space stations of unlimited amount, as long as he has enough credits to afford them. It is also possible to build factories to produce goods such as weapons and shields.

Numerous alien races populate the X-Universe. The protagonist's reputation among the socially inclined races can be built up by undertaking missions on their behalf, defending their space, or though trade. The way these races treat the protagonist and the nature of the missions given to him depend on his reputation rating, which is divided into "Mercantile", "Combat", and "Notoriety" categories.

Some races are irreversibly hostile, and will leave the player no choice but defend himself in space ship combat. However, the player can also choose to be aggressive, piracy being an available option together with trading, mining, and bounty-hunting.