I noticed this the other day, but have been to busy to post it until now. Apparently, what was one X
2: The Return (originally planned as an expansion to X
2: The Threat), has become a fully-blown sequel called X
3: Reunion. Here's a clip about it from
Egosoft's website:
During the creation of X²: THE RETURN, a secondary team was tasked with the development of a state of the art X engine, with the power and flexibility to bring the concepts EGOSOFT and the fan community have envisaged to life. Many of these creations were not possible with the existing X² engine and consideration to ‘space’ features had to be made. The near completion of the X³ engine within 2005 would allow EGOSOFT the creative freedom they desired, with no loss of content and give players an unparalleled game experience.
You can read the entire news piece
at Egosoft's website.