In what is a massive case of “about damn time” developer Blackbird Interactive and Gearbox Publishing announced at a PAX West panel that they are now into preproduction on Homeworld 3, a new entry in the innovative 3D RTS series. To coincide with the announcement they’ve opened a Fig campaign here to allow fans to invest in the game or get their hands on backer rewards.

With so many of the team working on it being involved in the past games (including Deserts of Kharak and the Remastered Collection) there is no disputing the pedigree is as good as you’re going to get and this is a great way to celebrate 20 years since the release of that first game. The CEO of Blackbird, Rob Cunningham, was the art director of the original games while studio concept director Aaron Kambeitz was the lead artist so you know they’ll nail the look of the new game easily. Paul Ruskay will also return to compose for the game which is fantastic news because the music and audio from Homeworld has always been a major factor in setting the right tone for the series.

Though I got my fair share of RTS action previously with Command & Conquer it was Homeworld that really grabbed my attention and it chewed through an insane amount of my time when it was first released. A couple of missions literally kept me going for over hours non-stop as I wanted to get my fleet safely through and stocked up on resources. Time acceleration wouldn’t appear until the sequel but I was kept mesmerised by the almost balletic display of fighters, frigates, destroyers and carriers taking on their enemies and so the hours passed away faster than I would realise. The prospect of reliving that experience even if I may be a lot more time limited (!) has massive appeal. 🙂

Homeworld 3 is planned (not confirmed) to arrive in Q4 2022.