Homeworld 3

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Homeworld 3
Technical Information
Developer	Blackbird Interactive
Publisher	Gearbox Publishing
Release Date	13th May 2024
Game Information
Story	Find Karan S'jet and stop the Anomaly
Year	9745 GSY/235 AHL

Homeworld 3 is the fifth video game in the Homeworld series. Set 100 years following the events of Homeworld 2, it was released on the Steam and Epic Games Stores on May 13th 2024: it was developed by Blackbird Interactive and published by Gearbox Publishing. Gearbox Publishing was later acquired by Take-Two Interactive shortly after launch, as part of a restructuring undertaken by Embracer Group.

After a long period of uncertainty and speculation, due to various acquisitions and statements by different IP owners since 2008, the game was formally announced by Gearbox Software at the PAX East convention on 30th August 2019. It will be developed by Blackbird Interactive, which consists of numerous former employees of Relic Entertainment, the original studio who produced Homeworld and Homeworld 2. The game was fully funded by Gearbox Publishing, who -- at the time -- were the current owners of the IP for the series.

When the pre-order campaign launched, the community were invited to back the game via crowdfunding using the Fig platform, with a claim that any backers would get a "backstage pass" in understanding the process behind the development of the game from start to finish. This campaign was effectively closed on 29th May 2023, when the Fig website was shut down by Republic, a fintech company who had acquired Fig in 2020 and which had previously indicated that Fig would be merged into Republic at an unknown time in the future. However, significant controversy surrounding the frequency and usefulness of these updates plagued the campaign for most of its existence, with most updates generally focusing on concept art, Homeworld Mobile and other non-Homeworld 3 related information. The game launched, after multiple delays and pushbacks, to a worldwide audience on 13th May 2024, after a short early-access release which began on 10th May 2024 for all Fig Backers and those who purchased the Fleet Command bundle.

Despite launching with significant praise by gaming journalists for the high quality of graphics and audio, the game has received mostly negative reviews from a significant majority of players and fans, with criticism ranging from the non-existent ballistics functionality -- previously touted as something which would be part of the game at the start of the Fig backer campaign -- to the campaign story being extremely lacklustre and not following in the footsteps of the previous entries of the series. Whereas previous games focused on the larger picture of the Kushan -- later Hiigaran -- race, Homeworld 3 focuses specifically on individual characters and ignores the Hiigaran race completely: both protagonist and antagonist characters shown in the campaign have been criticised as weak and fitting into various known trips of anime series, as well as having excessive emotional attachment to the situations they were dealing with. The FMV cutscene clips were also heavily criticised for detracting from the original black-and-white animatics of all previous games in the series.

Criticism was also directed to the large number of "paid sponsorship" reviews conducted by larger content creators and influencers, many of whom had no previous background or coverage of the Homeworld series on their platforms, and who also received exclusive merch which was not offered at any time during the Fig Backer campaign to long-term fans. The large amounts of negativity towards the game were demonstrated in the Steam review ratings, which have continued to decline since launch, tipping into a "Mostly Negative" rating on 23rd June 2024. The player base for WarGames, a rogue-like multiplayer feature with one year of DLC support, has also continued to decline from launch day, due to bugs and lack of interest from a majority of players who had no interest in the WarGames feature.

Background

The Homeworld IP was originally owned by Sierra Entertainment, a subsidiary of Vivendi Games, who published Homeworld, Homeworld: Cataclysm and Homeworld 2. Relic Entertainment, who created the franchise, were acquired by THQ in 2004, making further Homeworld games unlikely. In a surprise move, THQ purchased the Homeworld IP rights from Sierra in 2007, but did not develop a new game. In 2013 THQ collapsed and the Homeworld IP was purchased by Gearbox.

In the meantime, many of the key personnel involved in making the original games had left Relic and set up Blackbird Interactive. In 2010 they began work on Hardware: Shipbreakers, a brand new strategy game set in a new universe. After Gearbox acquired the IP, they contacted Blackbird to assist in the making of Homeworld Remastered. They then worked out a publication deal with Blackbird for Shipbreakers, recasting it as a Homeworld prequel game set on Kharak before the events of the original title.

However, scope remained for a new Homeworld title set in space after the events of Homeworld 2. Gearbox confirmed they would explore this possibility based on the success of the new games. They also indicated that they approached the updates to the Homeworld 2 engine so they could use it to make new games as well.

"According to Martel, despite its age, the HW2 engine is "so strong and capable," thanks, in part, to the efforts Gearbox has made to upgrade the platform, that it could handle any theoretical sequel. Of course, Martel was quick to add that a Homeworld sequel may not take the same form as the first two, and the team would have to sit down with the game's original creators to "look at what the next game would be."" — Brian Martel, Gearbox Software

"Like any good Homeworld obsessive, I asked what sort of conditions would need to be met before any discussions were had around Homeworld 3. Naturally, sales of the remastered collection will be a big part of it, and a discussion will have to be had with the game's original creative team, currently working on prequel game (Homeworld: Shipbreakers). From their voices, however, it's clear that Martel and Faylor are smitten with the series, describing the remastering project as a "labor of love." And while they're currently in a "wait-and-see holding pattern," if the demand proves strong enough, then the pair would "love to make Homeworld 3."" — Brian Martel

In March 2019 during PAX East, Gearbox Publishing teased that they are preparing a future for the Homeworld Franchise. At PAX East, it was announced that Homeworld 3 and Homeworld Mobile are to be developed, alongside an additional Fig Campaign. Within the first month of the campaign, it had accrued over $1 million in additional support from the community.

On 10 June 2022, despite assurances that the game would meet its initial launch date of Q4 2022, it was confirmed that the game would release within the first six months of 2023 instead. Once again, despite repeated assurances of a launch in H1 2023, the date was pushed back to Q1 2024. In May 2023, the game was delayed to February 2024. On December 1, 2023, Gearbox announced that the game would be released on March 8, 2024. .

Before the game was released (8th March) there was a Demo of the game about Wargames from the 5th of February to 12th February. Halfway though the Demo trail, it was announced that it was pushed back to May 13th and people getting the pre-orders for the 10th of May

Story

Homeworld 3 is set 100 years after the events of Homeworld 2. It introduces a brand-new protagonist, scientist Imogen S'Jet - the protégé of Karan S’Jet - who must become Fleet Command to solve the mystery behind Karan’s disappearance and determine the meaning of “the anomaly”, a threat that endangers the galaxy's future.

Synopsis

After their victory over the Vaygr (as played out in Homeworld 2), Hiigara entered a golden age with the discovery of a vast hyperspace gate network developed by an ancient race known as the Progenitors. However, a new danger known simply as "the Anomaly" began to emerge in deep space, causing disruptions in the network. Karan S'jet, the original Fleet Command, led a fleet to investigate and disappeared without a trace. Twenty years later, Karan's chosen successor, Imogen S'jet, becomes Fleet Command for a new Mothership, the Khar-Kushan.

Almost immediately upon its launch, the commanders of the Hiigaran Navy inform the Khar-Kushan that an unknown threat is weaponizing hyperspace in the Anomaly. Using the functioning parts of the gate network, the Khar-Kushan sets a course for Noctuua-27, believed to be the source of the Anomaly, but is diverted and severely damaged while en route. While en route to a Progenitor repair facility, the mysterious enemy is revealed as the Incarnate, using salvaged Progenitor technology and bound to the will of a "Queen". They also recover a frigate from the lost fleet and discover an encoded message from Karan to Imogen, giving the location of her Mothership, the Khar-Sajuuk. The Incarnate Queen makes contact with Imogen, identifying herself as an ancient being called Tiaa'Ma, who seeks to use the power of hyperspace to bend reality to her will, and invites Imogen to join her. After the Mothership is repaired, Imogen follows the coordinates to the Khar-Sajuuk, finding the ship encased in an ice field. Karan is found alive, and explains to Imogen that they must break Tiaa'Ma's control over hyperspace by bringing her what she wants: The three original Hyperspace Cores developed by the Progenitors (discovered in the first two games).

The Khar-Kushan travels alone to Noctuua-27, where Imogen deceives Tiaa'Ma into believing she is joining her cause, allowing her to get close enough to her "temple", a massive gate-ship called the Lament. Imogen summons Karan and the fleet and delivers the three Cores, combining their power with the Khar-Kushan's synthetic cores to trap the Lament in hyperspace, while Karan sacrifices herself to join Tiaa'Ma in "shared oblivion". The result overloads the Khar-Kushan's hyperspace drive and disables the gate network. Though stranded in deep space and cut off from contact with Hiigara, the fleet chooses to follow Imogen as their Fleet Command.

Differences to Previous Games

If you have played any of the previous Homeworld games, you should review the following gameplay aspects to see how HW3 differs from them.

• Fleet size limits have returned to Unit Counts instead of a Support Unit pool, in a two-tier system: you have a count limit for each ship Class and lower sub-limits for each specific ship available in that class (for example in the Campaign you can have up to 15 Capital ships, but only 8 of them can be Destroyers)
• Available resources are NOT auto-collected for you at the end of a mission, following the style of Homeworld and Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. You will need to directly harvest everything, so finding safe lulls in the action of a mission to grab resources will be key.
• Resource collectors are no longer standalone units that have to grab resources then fly them all the way back to your Mothership, Carrier or a Controller. Collectors and Controllers have now been combined into a single squadron based around the Controller, which comes with 4 Collectors. They can harvest and deposit resources directly on-site, which is a very efficient upgrade from before.
• Strike craft mini-squadrons from Homeworld 2 have been removed; you are back to managing each individual Strike Craft. However, Formations have been adjusted somewhat accordingly; instead of a large group of strike craft all going into one massive Claw or X for example which makes the outermost ships typically out of range of intended targets, the ships will naturally break themselves into smaller sub-groups which are more efficient to use.
• Ship capture is back, and quite a viable tactic in the Campaign, done with the Resource Controllers. A single Controller has enough Collectors to capture both Frigates and Destroyers, however multiple Controllers can use their Collectors for the capture. Be warned; both the captured ship and every Controller participating in its capture will have to fly back to your Mothership to convert the vessel, meaning you lose access to the extra Controllers. Also, if any Controller currently participating in a capture is given a different order while the enemy ship is being moved, it will temporarily regain control and start firing until another Controller can land enough extra Collectors onto it to continue the capture.
• Subsystem targeting from Homeworld 2 on Capital ships, as well as their construction, has been removed.
• The special Contextual menu for ships has a different control scheme. With a unit selected press Alt, then Right Click, to get to its full command list. This includes hidden commands like Retire and Scuttle.

Missions list

• 01 Hiigara
• 02 Facility 315
• 03 Kesura Minor
• 04 Kala Terminus
• 05 Trinity Gate
• 06 The Lighthouse
• 07 Naraka Gate
• 08 Storm Strike
• 09 Warsage Citadel
• 10 Buran Ice Shelf
• 11 Chamber of Storms
• 12 Noctuua-27
• 13 The Lament

Game Modes

• Campaign: This is the baseline storyline campaign, with the mission list mentioned above.
• War Games: A separate rogue-like mission set. You start off with a strike-craft focused Carrier fleet, and have to progress through a series of challenges, unlocking upgrades and account levels along the way.
• Skirmish: The PvP mode of the game where you can challenge friends online, or fight against computer opponents. The fleet count limits in this mode are notably different than the Campaign (more Resource Controllers, less combat ships).

Additional Aspects

• Homeworld 3 Ships
• Homeworld 3 Factions

Soundtrack

Paul Ruskay has been teaming with phenomenal musicians from around the world including Ffion Elisa, Onur Seçki, Sean Pádraig, Andrea Piccioni, Hesham Hamra and Konstantinos Kalatzis. All of them are producing the Homeworld 3 soundtrack. 2 of which are available to listen on Gearbox Software YouTube channel.

Fig Campaign Rewards

On the start of Fig Campaign in August 2019, there were 7 rewards. (The awards costed at $50, $60, $100, $150, $160, $300 and $1000) The rewards included:

• one game ($50 reward)
• two Homeworld Games ($100 reward)
• the exclusive Fig backer survey (Fig survey is now closed)
• Early Access to Homeworld Mobile
• Keys to Homeworld Remastered and Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak (The keys were issued to the campaign backers after the initial campaign closed)
• Fig digital collector's edition items (Fig-exclusive digital content like multiplayer name colors, backer ship decals, icons, and banners. Enter a name in the randomized pool of pilot names for Homeworld 3!)
• Homeworld 3 collector's edition which YOU get to influence.
• The Art of Homeworld (Second Edition) with 5x7 prints included.
• Homeworld 3 signed concept art print (singed by Rob Cunningham)
• Supporter-only Discord access

After the initial campaign finished, a few changes were made on the tiers.

• The $50, $160 and $1000 option is not available any more.
• Homeworld 3 signed concept Art print is no longer available
• The Homeworld Remastered and Deserts of Kharak bundle is no longer available.
• Art of Homeworld 2nd Edition book is no longer available.

Then on the 18th April Gearbox give a message that said in 72 hours (to April 21st the day that PAX East happened) that the Homeworld 3 Collectors Edition bundle is finished. On the April 21st PAX East happened and the $150 bundle disappeared. Some changes of the tiers including:

• $150 Homeworld 3 Collectors Bundle is no longer available.
• $60 and $100 is available.

Collector's Edition

The Collectors' Edition

As well as a digital release via Steam and Epic Games, Homeworld 3 Collectors Edition was also released as a physical boxed set. The boxed set includes The Mothership, Khar-Kushan, A Hiigaran Destroyer, A Hiigaran Torpedo Frigate, Hiigaran Recon in delta formation, WW2-inspired spotter deck, Homeworld 3 Logo keychain  and a Homeworld 3 Key Art Lithograph. The Digital Goods includes a Homeworld 3 base game Steam key, a Homeworld 3 Year One Pass Steam key: (A collection of content expanding the gameplay of both Homeworld 3's co-op, PvE roguelite mode and competitive PvP.) A Homeworld 3 soundtrack by Paul Ruskay Steam key. Ship decals, Icons, Banners and Multiplayer name colors.

Credits

• CEO: Rob Cunningham
• CCO and Creative Director: Rory Mcguire
• Studio Concept Director: Aaron Kambeitz
• Senior Producer: Matt Kernachan
• Art Director: Karl Gryc
• Design Lead: Lance Mueller
• Technical Director: Andrew Richie
• Core Gameplay Designer: Kat Neale
• Concept Artist: David T. Cheong
• Art lead: Stephen Mokrytzki
• Lead FX artist: Tim O’Connell

Voice Cast and Characters

• Imogen S'jet - Elysia Rotaru
• Isaac Paktu - Ike Amadi
• Karan S'jet - Heidi Ernest
• Incarnate Queen - Erica Luttrell
• Warsage - Matt Yang King
• Bal' Dro - Jason Hightower

See also

• Homeworld 3 Facebook Fan Page

External Site

• Homeworld 3 Website
• Homeworld 3 Gameplay Trailer from Gamescom 2022