Strategy · January 20, 2016

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak (2016)

trophy48 achievementsextension4 DLClocal_offer-90% current discountgroup1M–10M ownersrecommend7.6k recommendations
HOMEWORLD: DESERTS OF KHARAK A ground-based RTS prequel to the classic Homeworld games. Assemble your fleet and lead them to victory on the shifting sands of Kharak in this compelling strategy game. Crafted by Blackbird Interactive, a studio founded by veterans of Homeworld and Company of Heroes , Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak takes players to the deserts of Kharak where danger lurks over every dune. EXPERIENCE AN ORIGIN STORY In Deserts of Kharak ’s campaign, an anomaly is discovered deep in the southern desert. An expedition is sent, but the story is not that simple. Discover the story of Rachel S'jet as she leads her people on a quest to find their destiny in an exciting campaign. HEAVY DUTY HARDWARE Take control of fleets of land and air vehicles – from nimble light attack vehicles to massive heavyweight cruisers – built to conquer the desert. MASSIVE ENVIRONMENTS Fight your way across massive dune seas, deep craters, and hostile canyons in sprawling maps – all in unprecedented fidelity and scale. TACTICAL COMBAT Position your fleet to take advantage of the high ground or create ambushes across dune lines in terrestrial combat. Attack your enemies’ resource operations, or assault their military head-on. STRATEGIC DECISIONS Meaningful choices in resource management, fleet composition, and technology research directly impact your chances of survival. ONLINE MULTIPLAYER Compete online solo or with friends in a variety of game modes, including ranked play, to rise through the ranks and become the most powerful Fleet Captain on Kharak. Before you can find your Homeworld, you must first unlock the secrets of the desert.

Position in Strategy

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume8.5k Steam reviewsTop 50% in Strategy
Positive rating80% positiveGenre average: 84% — this title sits in top 72%
Metacritic79/100Genre average 79 — top 51% of Strategy titles
Engagement hours8 h averageTop 84% for session depth among Strategy

Community Tag Signals

Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.

  • Strategy · 236
  • RTS · 203
  • Sci-fi · 164
  • Multiplayer · 108
  • Story Rich · 102
  • Great Soundtrack · 81
  • Space · 74
  • Female Protagonist · 69
  • Atmospheric · 57
  • Singleplayer · 55
  • Action · 40
  • Futuristic · 33
  • Real-Time · 20
  • Tactical · 15
  • Adventure · 11

Peer Strategy titles

Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Features & Capabilities

Multiplayer

  • Multi-player

Community

  • Steam Achievements
  • Steam Trading Cards
  • Steam Cloud
  • Stats
  • Steam Leaderboards

Accessibility

  • Adjustable Difficulty

Input & Comfort

  • Custom Volume Controls

Other

  • Single-player
  • Save Anytime
  • Family Sharing

Reception Metrics

Steam community

80%Mostly Positive · 8.5k reviews

6.8k positive · 1.7k negative

Metacritic

79/100 critic aggregate

Open Metacritic page

Metacritic user score

7.9/10

Curator recommendations

7.6k

Localization Coverage

Interface / Subtitles (7)

  • English volume_up
  • French
  • Italian
  • German
  • Spanish - Spain
  • Russian
  • Polish volume_up

Full audio (2)

  • English
  • Polish

Strategy releases from 2016

9 Strategy titles launched in 2016 — top 6 by review volume.

Engagement Profile

All-time avg

8h

short (5–15 hours)

Median

6h

Typical completion time

2-week avg

0h

Current engagement

Achievements

48

Steam unlocks available

Release & Availability

Release dateJan 20, 2016
DeveloperBlackbird Interactive
PublisherGearbox Publishing
Base price$4.99 -90%
DLC / Add-ons4 released
PlatformsWindows, macOS
Estimated owners1M–10M
External linksOfficial site · Metacritic page · Support

More from Blackbird Interactive

Blackbird Interactive has 3 titles indexed — all listed below.

Editions & Packages

  • Buy Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak