Blackbird Interactive and Gearbox Publishing announced today that the upcoming space RTS Homeworld 3 has been delayed a couple of months and will now be released on May 13. According to the post, recent feedback from Homeworld 3‘s public War Games demo and insights from Homeworld veterans made the team aware of final tweaks to make Homeworld 3 the best experience possible.
Important to get it right
Homeworld 3 has seen a handful of delays in the last year. Originally scheduled for the first half of 2023, the RTS was first delayed to February 2024. At the end of last month, it suffered a roughly one-month delay to March, and then now another two month delay to May. Delays are always a bummer.
But, it’s more important than ever to ensure quality. You can only launch once, and in the case of Homeworld 3, there’s a pretty devoted fanbase of players who still love to play Homeworld and Homeworld 2. Assuming Blackbird and Gearbox intend for players to delve into Homeworld 3 for as long, it’s important they get it right.
Addition of War Games
There’s actually a Homeworld 3 demo available right now on Steam Next Fest. The demo features a new Homeworld mode, called War Games. Commanders manage a fleet through numerous waves of enemies to claim powerful artifacts and augment their ships to complete objectives. It’s essentially a roguelike mode for the space RTS which is a pretty innovative approach.
I was able to play about an hour of the demo and thought the mode itself was a pretty fun addition to the genre. However, the UI and camera controls felt a bit rough around the edges. Hopefully, these extra two months will give Blackbird the time to add some extra love and polish ahead of release.
Homeworld 3 will now be released on May 13 on PC. Those who purchase the Fleet Command or Collector’s Edition will get access three days early on May 10.