Strategy · January 20, 2016
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak (2016)
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
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 8.5k Steam reviews | Top 50% in Strategy |
| Positive rating | 80% positive | Genre average: 84% — this title sits in top 72% |
| Metacritic | 79/100 | Genre average 79 — top 51% of Strategy titles |
| Engagement hours | 8 h average | Top 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
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 date | Jan 20, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Blackbird Interactive |
| Publisher | Gearbox Publishing |
| Base price | $4.99 -90% |
| DLC / Add-ons | 4 released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS |
| Estimated owners | 1M–10M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support |
More from Blackbird Interactive
Blackbird Interactive has 3 titles indexed — all listed below.
Editions & Packages
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