Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
Game
Game2024
Homeworld 3
Developer Blackbird Interactive
Homeworld 3 is a real-time strategy video game developed by Blackbird Interactive and published by Gearbox Software. The game was released on May 13, 2024. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
326 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
42
Mixed
97 positive · 133 negative
95% range 36–49%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 97 | 133 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 8 | 20 | 49 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 1 | 3 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
2,297 of 5,365 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
41% recommend · 90 yes, 127 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 217 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (3,574 of 8,775 positive).
Some reviewers find the game enjoyable despite its flaws, especially on sale. [1][2][3] Several posters criticize the game for being abandoned by developers shortly after release. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [2]
“Mixed reviews” is about right. There’s so much to like about this game: the graphics, the design of the ships, the sounds (in space, I know), the music… but there’s also a lot to dislike: the amateur quality cutscenes that seem plucked from 2005, the incoherent story, the lack of variety in terms of missions, units, and strategies. They took Homeworld and destroyed it. And yet - even inside that wreckage you can …
- [1]
I was a fan of original Homeworld and played it as a kid. Recently finished Homeworld 1 and 2 Remastered and decided to look at the 3rd game. I of course saw the reviews, so I got it not on Steam but in some OTHER "store" with a HUGE discount. Played a few missions and... actually liked it. Still, the negative reviews plus Blackbird and Gearbox ghosting their own community, plus a $40 price tag (even $25 on sale is …
- [16]
Hope you feel like reading a little mini-book! I used to run a half decent Homeworld YouTube channel where I did some lore analysis and deep dives into Deserts of Kharak, the Homeworld "prequel". I have been a lifetime fan of Homeworld -- it was *formative* to my game tastes, media tastes, and the kinds of stories I enjoyed as time went on. My channel got to the point where I was invited to the studio, and I gladly …
- [14]
After the reviews I was prepared for the awful writing - what I wasn't expecting was broken and absent basic features. Units don't keep formation, wandering off during battle and getting completely scattered. It's impossible to see from the UI where selected units are. Shift-click does not deselect a unit, so trying to break them up into squads of specific numbers is an absolute chore. Escort orders are taken as …
- [17]
I've been a fan of the Homeworld franchise since the original game permanently shifted my understanding of video games as a storytelling medium. I played Cataclysm and then Homeworld 2 and the franchise forever held a special place in my gaming core memories. I bought the remastered editions when Gearbox scooped up the IP and even bought Deserts of Kharak as I thought that GB and BBI had the same appreciation for …
Summarised from 34 of the 309 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Homeworld 3 sits at 42% positive across 230 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Homeworld 3 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, being recommended by 70% of critics. CGMagazine wrote that "Homeworld 3 balances incredibly technical gameplay with streamlined mechanics that is easy to get into, but difficult to master." However, IGN Italia was disappointed, claiming that it has an "abysmal story". On the Steam platform, however, user ratings have been categorized as Mostly Negative.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 326 · most liked firstHope you feel like reading a little mini-book! I used to run a half decent Homeworld YouTube channel where I did some lore analysis and deep dives into Deserts of Kharak, the Homeworld "prequel". I have been a lifetime fan of Homeworld -- it was *formative* to my game tastes, media tastes, and the kinds of stories I enjoyed as time went on. My channel got to the point where I was invited to the studio, and I gladly bought a flight across the country to go hang out at BBI. They're great,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Released May 2024, last (and final) major update November 2024, the developers abandoned the game rather than working with the community. Don't give them your money.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The developers have completely ruined a great franchise, HW 3 is horrible game that is nothing like any of the previous HW games (I know, I've played and enjoyed them all); DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PIECE OF TRASH!!!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm late to the party, and I'll probably cover mostly the same points as most other people, and I'll skip some, however I want to vent. The games I actually replay or play skirmish mode in are extremely few and far between, and it is my great displeasure to inform you that Homeworld 3 is not on that list. We have a saying in my country: "They welcome you by your clothes, but see you off by your wit", and I think it fits HW3 very well. It's beautiful, detailed, gorgeous, and that's all you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Going to boycott backrooms as well. Blackbird will never receive money from my household again. Tarnished the best scifi RTS to ever grace the PC, then refused to fix it. Cowards.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After the reviews I was prepared for the awful writing - what I wasn't expecting was broken and absent basic features. Units don't keep formation, wandering off during battle and getting completely scattered. It's impossible to see from the UI where selected units are. Shift-click does not deselect a unit, so trying to break them up into squads of specific numbers is an absolute chore. Escort orders are taken as vague suggestions. Losses are irrelevant because you have so many resources…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I cant believe how sad, underwhelmed and generally gutted i felt completing this game. The killed it...they actually murdered a historical and beautiful game. I actually could cry after this insanley horrible experiance
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A troubled game that is also now dead. No support, no community. Pros - Inspired art and mesmerizing effects Cons - A story that is less than compelling - Simplistic gameplay with frustrating pathing - Dead community - Abandoned by devs
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've been a fan of the Homeworld franchise since the original game permanently shifted my understanding of video games as a storytelling medium. I played Cataclysm and then Homeworld 2 and the franchise forever held a special place in my gaming core memories. I bought the remastered editions when Gearbox scooped up the IP and even bought Deserts of Kharak as I thought that GB and BBI had the same appreciation for the franchise as I did. Then I heard about Homeworld Mobile and how…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was so excited for this game. I pre-ordered the Collector's Edition on Amazon. As a fan of the first two, my expectations were high for this game. But oh, how the mighty have fallen. There's not much to add that hasn't already been said. This game is trash. The gameplay is terrible, the story is abysmal with no emotional depth whatsoever. The original games felt like something was actually at stake. This feels like a mobile game. TLDR - Imagine you ate the best two meals of your life, and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had a MUCH longer review (17k characters) but this is going to be the very abridged notes I'm a lifelong Homeworld Fan, 1 is basically what Final Fantasy 7 seems to be for a lot of gamers in my generation, Cataclysm has my favorite story in all of gaming, DoK I think is excellent though had some questionable Retcons and even 2 was a good ride. I knew going in HW3's story was bad and was waiting on a 75% off sale (I used a gifted gift card for 30 so technically all I paid was state tax) I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As much as I hate to admit this was just a cash grab, singleplayer campaign is lackluster they could do so much more around the universe and this is such a flop storywise. The gameplay just lacks the cosy slowpaced atmosphere of the predessessors, I see where they were aiming, make a esports competitve multiplayer fast paced game, and this was ok in Desrts of Kharrak, but here? Duuno, I kinda miss the ability to spectrate the combat and the slowpaced battles of older series maybe its just me.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Play the Originals, this is absolutely atrocious. To make matters worse instead of staying to try fix their issues they just dipped. To add insult to injury they locked the DLC factions you can buy behind their 'wargames' game mode and dont let you play them during skirmish matches (which is the main way to play homeworld)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sadly the game was abandoned. If you can grab it for 9 bucks it is good for some hours but it's a hollow shadow of the first two games. i am really dissapointed
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Abandonware, run from this, the story is horrible, only saving grace is the nostalgia behind it Update: I still play this from time to time, and I truly don't know how, but with each download, the game seems to run worse. I've even played it in more recent pc's, and it still runs poorly. Truly only buy it IF you want to experience SOME SMALL PIECE of nostalgia, I always end the campaing and reinstalling one of the older ones xd Update on the Update: Plus, How can a game, THAT HAD YEARS OF…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →HW 1/2 were some of my favorite games growing up and 3 builds on some of what made them so unique and great. The gameplay and strategy is fantastic. Where the game is unforgivable is the story and writing. The campaign of 1 was one of my most memorable gaming experiences. The mystic, sage like, ancient feeling grandiose presentation was amazing. This game felt like a bad YA novel, the mystic, sage like ancient civilizations felt like they were represented by teens with sloppy writing and over…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's okay, but the original feel has been traded for rapid TTK and rapid attrition/replace style combat. The original games made you feel like every resource was scarce, it had to be carefully allocated and ships were precious. Even at 25% speed, it's just like C&C/TA, not my beloved Homeworld. There was no reason to change what didn't need to be fixed.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Read the other reviews. Don’t bother buying this game. The developers have abandoned it and all future releases. Fractions are locked even though you’ve bought the dlcs. Story is written by a 13 year old child. Do not waste your time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Where do I start... There was a lot of criticism on Homeworld Remastered and Deserts of Kharak, but both games easily outshine this game. I purposefully took a step back from the game and came back now to take another look. There have been attempts and approaches to fix the most glaring issues, but a lot still does not fit. The campaign is neither well told nor in any way or form entertaining to play. The Story is forgettable. Instead of the iconic minimalist cutscenes from the previous…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This franchise is shadow of its former self the story used to be compelling, now it's dry and predictable. On the other hand, the gameplay feels pretty good while the UI is not as thematic as the original it does feel better functionally but at the same time generic. Overall this is not the game homeworld fans were waiting for ages for it feels more like a generic RTS with a homeworld skin, the multiplayer is lacking and the decision to add only more content for the wargame mode which is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was excited to watch this game grow but its literally just abandonware at this point in time. Last update was 2 years ago without anything as small as a single patch. Don't buy this game unless you like throwing money away.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Definitively my biggest disappointment of 2024 from my gaming activities... Just play to the previous games, this one should not be part of Homeworld franchise.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Anyone who reviews this game positively needs to give their head a shake. This game is an insult to the spirit of the franchise and is a slap in the face to fans. Terrible story, terrible writing, and terrible developer response / delivery of promises. They've dropped this game like a bad habit after promising support. The only decent thing about this game are the visuals for the most part. Don't buy unless steeply discounted.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Boy, what a disappointment. Another good series that bites the dust.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Is the game broken or just bad? Nothing works properly, units don't respond to movement commands, formations don't work properly, selecting units as a group often doesn't work if they are different types. There are almost no customization options for units, if any, and only one or two updates per unit. You can't even do anything with the mothership. The developers didn't put any effort into this game at all.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was so disappointed by this that I forgot to actually leave a review. Since when is homeworld a soap opera? I like stories of empires, not people full of self doubt and "misunderstood" antagonists. To top it all off, I'm supposed to just believe a misunderstanding absolves space Genghis Khan of the genocidal war she was waging??? Homeworld also has always been about 3D RTS movement, and while the 3D movement still technically exists, the controls and mechanics pushes you towards…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This feels like someone read a brief overview of the homeworld lore and made a game off that. It feels soulless and poor imitation of what the series used to be. I'm trying so hard to get into the campaign I used to love these games, but the story is so bad and the characters so weak. I can barely play either, every few seconds (literally on some missions) I am being interrupted by another f'ing cutscene or explanation of something I can already see happening where the controls are taken away…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only played the campaign. I dont have the heart to bother with the other stuff. HW3 had to do 2 things to work: - Be a functional/good UX RTS set in space - Capitalise on the existing art/lore/vibe of HW1/2 I dont think its unfair to say it didnt complete either of those goals. As an RTS. Its not great. Managing units is jank, alot of the details/tactics are basically out of your control and random, and the RPS elements go out the window and you just sort of make a blob, pick a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's just okay Homeworld 3 was one of my most anticipated games. When it came out and the reception was average at best, I held off buying it for quite a while. Thanks to the summer sale I could buy it very cheap. So you can imagine that I had enough time to lower my expectations and even if the game sucked, I wouldn't be bothered by it too much. That being said, the game is average in the departments that made Homeworld unique. No longer you're part of a mythical race seeking it's way…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The enemy has been unable to find this thing they need to win this war for 20 years, we know where it is... OMG I know what we should do... we should LEAD THEM TO THE THING THEY NEED TO WIN THE WAR....to.....prevent them from....finding it...?!? This storyline is too absurd to have been written by an adult. It contains the most edgy, and least likable "antagonist" they could possibly have shoehorned in, and just poor decision making all around. It really screams " we are allowing someone…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →21 years after Homeworld 2 came out, 25 years after Homeworld 1 came out, Gearbox moved heaven and earth to publish Homeworld 3. Unfortunately, it also published Homeworld 3 with an insultingly juvenile story that does a disservice to all of the previous games, the likes of which belongs in YA Fanfic written by novices. The gameplay has significant issues that I think could have been fixed, but the story would have to be replaced wholesale. On some level, I can't really believe that the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The fact their still selling this game after abandoning it so fast is shameless. The game will forever now be a husk left rotting under the shadow of Era One. The only thing that stands out about this game other then its poor game play feel is the fact I cant tell if this is one of those games that hates beautiful women or not- On one hand the male characters all look perfectly normal, and some times the female characters look ok... But on the other hand most of the time they look so bad, so…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Holy heck this was a let down. From the heights of HW1 and HW2 theres is this fking thing, from unskippable cutscene after unskippable cutscene, seriously seven minutes at the start of one mission, the majority showing that bad guys are flying ships and going to attack you. To re-writing the bad guys of HW2 into discriminated against minorities. You all know what sort of person worked on this and ruined this franchise. Its not what you want, shop elsewhere.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Definition of missed potential. There is stuff to like here: the models, the systems, and the game itself looks cool. The first few hours are super enjoyable. However, the game is buggy—ships randomly disappearing, not following their commands, and other things really make the systems your worst enemy. Also, for almost a 20-year jump, I expected more modern features. It also runs like piss, which is weird because it doesn't seem to me like it's boundary-pushing in any way. But by far the worst…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've seen all the bad reviews and thought , maybe its not so bad. Its worse. The battles are a colorful mess, no sense of positioning or strategy, just one blob after another. Most egregious was a defense mission. Instead of clever tactics, the enemy just B-lines to their target, while happily taking fire. In the meantime my units run all over the place, seemingly ignoring orders, happily running into enemy fire. Just play HW1,cataclysm, or HW2
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Camera broke during tutorial and got locked so i couldnt rotate no matter what i focused on.... twice...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was a fan of original Homeworld and played it as a kid. Recently finished Homeworld 1 and 2 Remastered and decided to look at the 3rd game. I of course saw the reviews, so I got it not on Steam but in some OTHER "store" with a HUGE discount. Played a few missions and... actually liked it. Still, the negative reviews plus Blackbird and Gearbox ghosting their own community, plus a $40 price tag (even $25 on sale is too much), all screamed "NO, DON'T BUY IT." Then I found a key for $2 on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →EDIT: I finished it, ~10 hours of gameplay that could've been much shorter likely with riskier tactics. If you're a Homeworld fan, be aware this is little more than gruel wearing the skin of a Homeworld game; if you're not a Homeworld fan, there's far better sci-fi/space RTSes out there to play, like the Homeworld remasters, or Sins, or anything except this bitter failure of a game. I'm a few hours in and at this point playing further already probably counts as self-harm according to multiple…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sigh. There is almost a good game in here, but overall it's bad. Quite bad. The campaign is terrible. Genuinely horrible writing, pacing, and atmosphere. The gameplay (including skirmish and war games) suffers from an E-sports influece and over simplification that can't be unseen once seen. Incredibly shallow compared to previous Homeworld games. The art is gorgeous but lacks all of the mystery and grandeur of previous titles as well. Would have just been a "meh" if not for driving the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really, REALLY want to like this game as a series fan since the original game, but it feels so far from what Homeworld was that I honestly dont think the devs understood what game it was they were trying to make. on top of that I have had so many end of mission crashes that I'm honestly so tired of running the same mission over and over just to end with a bug report submission form, for context, my PC is more than capable of playing it, for some reason it just runs like ♥♥♥♥ even on its best…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An absolute shell of a its former self. I regret backing this on Fig, back in like 2018-2019. You can follow the development timeline and see when the shift occurred where the game fell off a cliff, in terms of quality, direction, plot and script. You can also correlate that fall off with the decision to hire certain cancerous groups to get involved with the development of this game. Suffice it to say...Homeworld DEId. The plot is so childish, I couldn't even stomach it longer than I have. I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to love this, being a fan of the series, but this is easily one of the most disappointing games I've played in years. I forced myself to stick with it for 6 hours, hoping it would get better or click, but honestly? 6 hours was 6 hours too long. Developer Blackbird Interactive and publisher Gearbox Software condensed their post-launch roadmap, releasing all remaining free updates and paid DLC in a single major drop on November 21, 2024. No further major expansions or official…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →“Mixed reviews” is about right. There’s so much to like about this game: the graphics, the design of the ships, the sounds (in space, I know), the music… but there’s also a lot to dislike: the amateur quality cutscenes that seem plucked from 2005, the incoherent story, the lack of variety in terms of missions, units, and strategies. They took Homeworld and destroyed it. And yet - even inside that wreckage you can still catch glimpses of what made Homeworld so great. Still worth playing - but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Okay, but just not my type of game I played this for about 3 hours in co-op with a friend. It actually started off okay, but in the end, this style of game is just not my thing. It is decent for what it is, but it failed to keep us hooked. I wouldn't really recommend it. Rating: 5/10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game and story were great except it is way, and I mean WAY to short for a $60 game. 8-10 hours of campaign are you kidding me? Wont be spending anymore money on the Homeworld series if this is what we have to look forward to. If you can get it for $20-30 maybe but unless you want to beat the game in one sitting I would hold off
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Worst game in the series by far, worth the €2,89 i bought it for tho, otherwise dont buy it
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Horribly bad AI and ship pathfinding, orders you give simply auto-cancel 25% of the time and the 3D map is practically unusuable unlike previous iterations. Also the mission maps are super small and nothing more than just a backdrop most of the time, which lacks the feeling of expansiveness that the older titles had. I was thinking I could enjoy the gameplay and just skip the atrocious story cutscenes, but the gameplay itself is terrible, so nothing of value can be found here. Just play the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like this game. I loved Homeworld 2. While I think the atmosphere and ship design is great, it fails in two important ways. First, the story is awful. I don't know what they were thinking. It's so out of place in Homeworld. It's also just bad in its own right. But the major reason why I stopped playing and won't be back is the controls. Ships regularly ignore commands, or just do something else completely. Way/path-finding is unbelievably bad. I can tell ships to go to a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am a big fan of previous Homeworld games but I got bored and stopped playing this game after 4 hours.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loved homeworld 1,2 and the desert one. The controls are just horrific, the story is weird. Levels are small boxes with camera problems. Dont buy this ... shocking.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I paid $13 for everything and somehow still feel buyer's remorse. The story has lost all the enigma and grandiosity the first and second game hand in exchange for amateur hour writing straight out of drama class. It beats you over the head with stupid ♥♥♥♥ like "sands and sinners" trying to make it a thing but coming across as cringey. I might go back and try the roguelite mode, but I'm giving up on the story. The writing team needs to go back to serving coffee at starbucks.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I almost didn't buy this even though I love the other two games because of the terrible reviews and I have to say I am surprised. I just don't get why there is so much negativity regarding this game , i think the graphics are excellent, even on my admitted under powered laptop and the story fits in well with the other games, so why all the hate? In all honesty I don't quite get why it has had so much scorn for a game that I think is a very good game and I'm glad I took the chance and ignored…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game sucks, to call it a disappointment would be an understatement. I had REALLY high hopes for this installment. I won't get into what most people are saying, instead this is a personal complaint. I really wanted to be able to do a co-op campaign with my friend, we loved playing HW2 but we secretly wished for a campaign we could play together, they had so much potential to work with and utterly wasted it on a weak story. War Games were an interesting concept, albeit a flop just like the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →just No. This is not the homeworld we wanted or deserved.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am willing to bet literally hundreds of dollars that if you got a Homeworld 3 dev in a room and they could say anything, they'd say, "Oh it's cause they tried to make it a live service game"
negative · AI labelView post →In celebration of Homeworld 3's final update I wanted to re-share this documentary I was honored to participate in as part of the ramp-up to the game's launch. Homeworld is a special game and special franchise for me, and it was a joy to share why. www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQHt...
neutral · AI labelView post →I got this game for free, and I still paid too much.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →not the vibes from homeworld 1 or 2.. something is missing.. no replay value.. Played it, completed it.. my 13 hours playtime says it all.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don’t see a good reason for all the hate this has received. I just finished the campaign and though I would have like it to be longer, I thought it was fun as-is. I’ve been a fan of the Homeworld series from the very beginning and this scratched that nostalgia itch I’ve had. Could the story have been better? Yes. But was it objectively bad? No. I regret not getting this sooner. I believed too much of the negative reviews and was afraid I’d hate it. When I saw it on sale for 50% off, I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you liked homeworld 2 you will be able to enjoy this game. If you liked homeworld 1 and homeworld emergence then this game will feel like a pale shadow in many ways. Like all the homeworlds you are able to get the vibe of being alone out in space. The music is on theme. the comm chatter is not quite as good but still manages to captures the spirit of the other games. The voice acting is usually adequate but varies quite a bit. The AI is a lot weaker. Ships don't understand their…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
