homeworld 3 is delayed and will now launch in February 2024, Gearbox Software announced Thursday. The schedule change confirms what fans had suspected, as previously the sci-fi real-time strategy game was supposed to launch in the first half of this year.
We are moving the launch of Homeworld 3 from the first half of 2023 to February 2024 to deliver the quality experience fans deserve. pic.twitter.com/DaCX4eFMm4
— Homeworld (@HomeworldGame) May 25, 2023
In a statement on Twitter, Gearbox said the delay was aimed at giving those fans “the quality experience [they] deserve.” The studio added that “we need more time to refine and polish the game.” Homeworld 3 will launch on Windows PC.
Blackbird Interactive, who made the spin-off/prequel Homeworld: Kharak Deserts for Gearbox in 2016, develops Homeworld 3 since 2017.
This is the second delay for Homeworld 3whose first launch window was 2022. The series dates from 1999 but has not seen a mainline series launch since 2003 Homeworld 2 (although a remastered version of this was released in 2015).
The series’ dormancy stems from the bankruptcy and liquidation of former publisher THQ 10 years ago; the acquisition of the franchise by Gearbox; a crowdfunding campaign to support the long-awaited sequel; then the acquisition of Gearbox by Embracer Group, suspending this campaign.