A brand new Homeworld game is in development, exclusively for VR. The beloved RTS game series is being adapted to a new medium by FarBridge, Inc., in partnership with Gearbox Entertainment. Known as Homeworld: Vast Reaches, the game is set to launch on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3 headsets later this year.
What is Homeworld?
Created by Relic Entertainment, the original Homeworld launched in September of 1999 to critical success. In 2013, the rights to the IP were purchased by Gearbox Entertainment.
In 2015, Homeworld Remastered Collection revived the franchise. A prequel, Deserts of Kharak, was released a year later, and Homeworld 3 is set to launch on 13th May, 2024, for PC.
Every game in the series has been well received. The original was largely credited with bringing the RTS genre into the realms of 3D gameplay, and its successors have been continuously modernising the formula. Of course, here in 2024, there’s no greater asset to modernisation than VR!
In the traditional PC games, you play as Fleet Command, a human commander who controls a fleet of spaceships. Players will take on the same role in Homeworld: Vast Reaches in vicious combat against a mysterious new foe.
Homeworld: Vast Reaches
This brand new VR edition of the series promises a new story in the beloved saga, reimagining the strategic space battles for VR and MR. The brand new medium will let players view the 3D RTS action from any angle, and drag-and-drop their ships into formations for combat.
Homeworld: Vast Reaches also takes it one step further with the introduction of Mixed Reality (MR). You can experience immersive 3D battles the size of your room, or instantly scaled-down to fit on a tabletop.
Set between the events of the first two games, you take on the role of Tyrra Soban, a new Fleet Command under the guidance of Karan S’jet, the legendary original Fleet Command and hero of Homeworld War. The original Kushan Mothership is pulled from retirement to serve as the flagship of a new fleet. Together Tyrra and Karan face a new threat, the Radaa, duplicitous interstellar traders who want to obtain your hyperspace core and don’t care if they destroy your Homeworld to get it.
VR Pedigree
“We’ve taken care to make a new experience that both Homeworld and strategy game fans will enjoy,” said Richard Rouse III, Studio Creative Director at FarBridge. “It’s been an honor to take the amazing space battles and unique characters of Homeworld and let people play in an entirely new way with virtual and mixed reality.”
FarBridge has partnered with Gearbox Entertainment to bring this beloved universe to VR. FarBridge will handle development and publishing responsibilities and collaborate closely with Gearbox Entertainment, who are focused closely on ensuring the game’s story, characters and lore remain true to the franchise.
“We can’t wait for the community to get their hands on Homeworld: Vast Reaches and finally feel what it’s like to become Fleet Command,” said Erica Hollinshead Stead, Sr. Director of Licensing and Business Development at Gearbox Entertainment. “VR brings a new dimension to the strategy gameplay of Homeworld, and I am excited for the community to be literally immersed in the vast universe it offers.”
Gearbox is of course no stranger to VR. The company currently has three VR games to its name. Penn and Teller VR: F U, U, U, & U, Desert Bus VR and of course, Borderlands 2. The latter of which ranks as one of XR Source’s best VR video game ports.
Launch Plans
Homeworld: Vast Reaches is set to launch later this year. The game has been stated to be compatible with Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3. It’s highly likely it’ll also work with Meta Quest Pro, of course.
No specific release date or price point has yet been announced for the game.
Are you a fan of the Homeworld series? Excited to see it coming to VR? Let us know in the comments below!