When was the Homeworld 3 release date? Homeworld is back and this time Blackbird Interactive and Gearbox Publishing are at the helm of the project.
Revealed at PAX West 2019, Homeworld 3 quickly met its crowdfunding goal by one hundred million percent after Gearbox Publishing only asked for $1. The RTS game has seen its fair share of quiet periods and several delays, but thankfully, long-time fans are finally able to sink their teeth into the strategy game – check out our Homeworld 3 review if you want to know more.
Homeworld 3 release date
Homeworld 3 was released on May 13, 2024. This date came after a delay, confirmed by Blackbird Interactive and Gearbox Publishing in a joint statement after “careful analysis of feedback” following playtests.
Players who purchased the Fleet Command Edition or Collector’s Edition had advanced access to Homeworld 3 from May 10, 2024. A Homeworld 3 demo is also available to download on Steam, offering a taste of the War Games roguelike mode as part of Steam Next Fest 2024.
Originally announced in 2019, the game has slowly been coming along over the last few years after being crowdfunded on Fig. It was initially slated for release in Q4 2022, but the team at Blackbird Interactive announced a delay in Summer 2022 to ensure the game would be delivered at the “highest quality.”
Following this, another delay was announced in May 2023, which stated similar reasons as the cause. The delay will allow the team the time to “deliver the Homeworld experience that lives up to the legacy of its predecessors,” Gearbox tells PCGamesN. The studio further confirmed this in a post on X, formerly Twitter, which maintained that fans deserve a “quality experience.”
The latest delay announcement also included a similar sentiment. The team planned on using this additional time to implement “the final tweaks needed to deliver at the level of quality that we strive for.”
Homeworld 3 system requirements
Blackbird Interactive has shared the Homeworld 3 system requirements ahead of the game’s launch. Naturally, they’re much more demanding than the original games in the series, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to get the RTS running.
Homeworld 3 story
Details on Homeworld 3’s story are thin on the ground, but we do know that it takes place 100 years following Homeworld 2 after the Karan S’Jet unlocked an ancient hyperspace gate network to allow for trade and exploration on a galactic scale.
However, that freedom meant a dark force known as “the anomaly” began to spread, swallowing planets and gates and threatening the prosperity the Karan S’Jet unlocked. To fight back against this threat, Karan accompanied a fleet and led them into uncharted territory to search for answers. But, she never returned.
Now, in Homeworld 3, Imogen S’Jet is the successor to Karan and holds the key to unlocking and resolving the mystery that poses grave threats to the galaxy and its future.
Though we’ve seen a few gameplay clips over the years, a Gamescom 2023 story trailer gave us a first look at two new characters: Imogen S’jet and Isaac Paktu. It also gives us an idea about the events of the third game and the threat to the Hiigaran fleet.
Homeworld 3 gameplay
Homeworld 3 has shown off a lot of small gameplay clips since its announcement, including in the trailer above which teased its story. You can expect a similar grand RTS experience with a fully 3D space to explore as you control a fleet of ships and battle above planets and amongst large space structures.
Strategy is key as you control the flow of fights and utilize abandoned space derelicts to either ambush your enemies or hide from their powerful arsenal. Combat won’t always be smooth sailing in space, and large environmental effects like particle storms and asteroid fields will shake up a fight at a moment’s notice and truly test your skills.
In addition to regular AI fights, Homeworld 3 is also home to PvP fights which will require you to sharpen your shooting and home your nerve as you face off in 1v1 dogfights, team battles, or free-for-all fights.
A gameplay trailer of Homeworld 3 from Gamescom 2022 gave us a look at gameplay in the Kesura Oasis, a space outside the mysterious anomaly. Here we got to see the game in all its glory for the first time, with a look at the deep layers of strategy baked into the experience and UI, how controlling a fleet works, and how to properly strategize in combat.
Homeworld 3 co-op
On top of both single-player fights against AI and PvP, Homeworld 3 has a co-op capable multiplayer mode which is brand new for the series. This mode fuses the series’ classic gameplay with a roguelike game structure where one or two commanders take on a randomized series of combat challenges.
Managing your fleet will unlock a range of rewards as you come out victorious and if you perform well, your strength will carry over between runs, powering you up for the next challenge. We haven’t seen this mode in action just yet, but Blackbird Interactive will likely show it off before the game releases.
Homeworld 3 kept us waiting, but thankfully it was worth it. It’s up there with the best space games on PC, and one of the best RTS games of the last few years. A must for fans and strategy heads alike.
