Homeworld

For other uses, see Homeworld (disambiguation).

Homeworld
Box artwork featuring the mothership with other ships and a planet behind it, and "Home World: 3D Real-Time Strategy" overlaid
Developer(s)Relic Entertainment
Publisher(s)Sierra Studios
Director(s)Alex Garden
Designer(s)Erin Daly
Programmer(s)Luke Moloney
Artist(s)
  • Rob Cunningham
  • Aaron Kambeitz
Writer(s)
Composer(s)Paul Ruskay
SeriesHomeworld
Platform(s)Windows, OS X
Release
  • Original
  • September 28, 1999 (Windows)[1]
  • Remaster
  • February 25, 2015 (Windows)
  • August 6, 2015 (OS X)
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Homeworld is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra Studios on September 28, 1999, for Windows. Set in space, the science fiction game follows the Kushan exiles of the planet Kharak after their home planet is destroyed by the Taiidan Empire in retaliation for developing hyperspace jump technology. The survivors journey with their spacecraft-constructing mothership to reclaim their ancient homeworld of Hiigara from the Taiidan, encountering a variety of pirates, mercenaries, traders, and rebels along the way. In each of the game's levels, the player gathers resources, builds a fleet, and uses it to destroy enemy ships and accomplish mission objectives. The player's fleet carries over between levels and can travel in a fully three-dimensional space within each level rather than being limited to a two-dimensional plane.

Homeworld was created over two years, and was the first game developed by Relic. Studio co-founders Alex Garden and Luke Moloney served as the director and lead programmer. The initial concept for the story is credited to writer David J. Williams, while the script itself was written by Martin Cirulis and the background lore was written by author Arinn Dembo. The music was written by composer Paul Ruskay as the first game from his Studio X Labs, with the exceptions of Samuel Barber's 1936 Adagio for Strings, considered the defining theme of the game, and a licensed track from English rock band Yes, "Homeworld (The Ladder)".

Homeworld is listed by review aggregator Metacritic as the highest-rated computer game of 1999, and the third-highest on any platform for the year. Critics praised the graphics, unique gameplay elements, and multiplayer system, though opinions were divided on the plot and high difficulty. The game sold over 500,000 copies in its first six months, and received several awards and nominations for best strategy game of the year and best game of the year. A release of the source code in 2003 sparked unofficial ports to Mac OS X and Linux, and three more games in the Homeworld series have been produced: Homeworld: Cataclysm (2000), Homeworld 2 (2003), and Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak (2016). Gearbox Software purchased the rights to the series from then-owners THQ in 2013, and released a remastered collection of Homeworld and Homeworld 2 in 2015 for Windows and OS X which was also highly regarded. In August 2019, Gearbox announced the fifth game in the series, Homeworld 3; the game was developed by Blackbird Interactive, partially crowdfunded through Fig, and released in 2024.[2]

  1. ^ "Press Release". January 19, 2001. Archived from the original on January 19, 2001. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference HW3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).