Crowdfunding page opens for Homeworld 3

Homeworld 3, the fifth iteration in the iconic PC gaming series Homeworld, is in development and will be partially funded in a very modern way – via crowdfunding.

Gearbox, the game’s developers, have launched a Fig page for the game and have already raised a substantial amount of money. At the time of writing, 2,536 people had backed the game and over $450,000 had been pledged.

The Fig page will remain open for pledges throughout the month of September, while those who’d like to invest in Homeworld 3 and enjoy a share of any profits the game makes can also do so on the fundraising page.

The Homeworld 3 fundraiser was announced at PAX West. Rob Cunningham, who worked on the original Homeworld game, looks set to be heavily involved in the project. The studio founded by Cunningham, Blackbird Interactive, will build the game.

Gearbox, who have already been involved in the Homeworld series thanks to their work on the Homeworld Remastered Collection, will publish.

Gearbox has emphasized that the game is at an “incredibly early” stage of production – pre-production, in fact – and have targeted Q4 2022 for the game’s release.

They will have to go some to match the critical and commercial success of the 1999 original, which was the highest-rated videogame in its year of release according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Three Homeworld sequels followed: Homeworld: Cataclysm (2000), Homeworld 2 (2003) and the prequel Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak (2016). The latter enjoyed a positive, if not overwhelming critical response, highlighting that gamers still have an appetite for the kind of strategic, space-based action the series specializes in.

The level of response to the Fig crowdfunding page supports this. Gearbox may have thrown something of a curveball by setting the fundraising target at $1 – perhaps to highlight that the game is on a “solid foundation, funding-wise” – but look more likely to hit the $1,000,000 mark.

Pledgers will also be able to take part in an exclusive survey that will help shape the content of the game. It looks to be an exciting time for Homeworld fans.