What’s Next for Homeworld 3?
Thanks to everyone who joined us for update 1.2 and the Kalan Raiders Fleet Pack. We want to take a moment to provide an update on what’s next as we look ahead to the rest of the updates initially revealed in our Year One DLC Roadmap.
An Updated Roadmap:
Following the release of update 1.2, we made the decision to combine all remaining paid DLC and free content drops in the roadmap into one unified delivery in November. Combining the content into one beat will allow us to focus all our resources and provide you all with a higher-quality experience.
This change means that, come November, we’ll be releasing two content packs that were originally scheduled for 2025 with the objective of delivering the most complete Homeworld 3 experience, and many of your requested changes, sooner. In total, you can look forward to three (3) free updates and two (2) paid DLCs worth of content launching as one major update in November.
We’ve provided an updated roadmap below which outlines that content generally, but let’s get into the specifics.
Note: “Campaign Missions” on the roadmap refers to the area of the game that will be updated with the player-controlled mission end. This will allow players to advance to the next mission in their own time after objectives have been completed. There will not be new or updated campaign missions in the November update.
Content Coming in November:
We’ve spent the last several months listening carefully to the feedback you’ve shared with us. We’ve also begun to work with members of our community to beta test some upcoming balance changes we intend to roll out in the Skirmish and War Games modes.
With the changes we’re making, we want to assure those of you who purchased the Year One Pass that you will be getting everything we’ve previously promised. Additionally, we’ve made modifications to our plans to include elements requested by the community.
Free Player-Requested Features Coming in Nov:
Highly requested features like Hyperspace Jumping in Skirmish mode and the ability to control when you move to the next mission in the campaign are both smart suggestions and elements of previous Homeworld titles that allow for more strategic gameplay.
You’ll be able to surprise your enemies with a rapid assault or zip away if your mothership becomes surrounded. Our goal with this feature was to have it feel similar to the experience in previous Homeworld titles, however, there are a few key differences. Hyperspace capabilities in Homeworld 3 are unlocked via individual ship-type research options. Each unit in the Frigate, Capital, and Mothership classes have a hyperspace core research option that is unlocked and then obtained like any other tech advancement in the game. Like previous Homeworld titles, each jump will cost RUs based on the length of the jump — requiring you to carefully weigh the decision to surprise your opponent.
To defend against these incursions, you can research Hyperspace Inhibitor abilities for the Hiigaran Support Frigate and Incarnate Disruption Corvette. The Hyperspace Inhibitor ability creates a protective sphere that blocks Hyperspace passage. When the Inhibitor ability is active, any ship making a Hyperspace Jump that flies through the inhibitor field will immediately be forced out of Hyperspace.
Another piece of feedback we heard loud in clear was that resourcing was just too efficient. Too often players weren’t required to make strategic decisions about which ships to research or build, because they had the resources to do everything. In Homeworld 3, we simplified resourcing by merging Resource Collectors and Controllers into a single unit, aiming to make macro-management more intuitive. However, this change unintentionally removed key strategic decisions related to economic development, present in previous titles, where players had to carefully balance resource investment with tech progression and defense. To restore this strategic depth, we made several adjustments: Resourcing rates are reduced by a meaningful amount, starting resources in Skirmish are lowered to drive early-game decision-making, and the cost of Resource Controllers is significantly increased to make them a riskier, more meaningful investment. These changes aim to reintroduce the tension and rewards of economic decision-making.
In update 1.2 we made a significant change in how we handled research in all game modes by introducing the queued system. No longer could you research everything simultaneously. However, this was just the first step in our tech tree changes. We have now added a more traditional RTS-style tech tree where units and research are unlocked more linearly, with unit and research unlocks being gated behind unlock requirements. This — in conjunction with queued research — has significantly improved the flow of Skirmish mode games while creating opportunities for meaningful strategic decisions. Alongside the changes to resourcing, we’re excited about how this new tech tree and queued research will reward tactical early-game decision making.
(Gif of blinking hyperspace out button on screen as mothership cruises around the skybox collecting resources)
Additionally, you’ll now be able to explore the beautiful scenery in the campaign missions while collecting all those precious RUs to fuel even more powerful fleets before moving on to the next leg of your journey. Currently, many of you felt that there wasn’t enough time to catch your breath, make repairs, and generally get prepared for the battles ahead. With this in mind, select campaign missions, where the narrative permits, will allow you to choose when you are ready to advance.
Free Content:
The free updates described in the roadmap are also a big part of the path forward. For those who haven’t purchased the Year One Pass, we’ll be adding more than 40 Artifacts, and 9 Challenges for free to help shake up War Games for everyone. This includes the introduction of a new ‘Ultimate’ class of Artifacts that becomes available after collecting an Artifact Pattern and one of each of the upgrade Artifacts. Ultimate Artifacts partially cancel out many of the negative effects associated with traditional Artifacts, taking your ships to new heights of unmitigated power. It also increases the importance of Artifact selections: do you broaden your picks in the pursuit of collecting the Ultimate Artifacts’ required upgrades or do you stack identical Artifacts to push your units into a specific niche?
New Paid DLC:
New factions for the War Games mode will enter the fray with our paid DLC packs. These franchise favorites introduce exciting new ships and strategies for players to explore. Each new War Games faction comes with two unique fleets, new ships, dozens of new Artifacts, and 10 new Challenges to test your skills as a commander.
Little information is available about the history of the Taiidan after the fall of the Taiidan Empire or during the subsequent rise of the Taiidan Republic and through the Vagyr War. However, it is widely believed that during the Age of S’jet, the Taiidan took their place alongside the Hiigarans in the new system of representation that formed during this time of prosperity. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the Taiidan forces would find a place in the Hiigaran Naval Combat School’s War Games.
The Taiidan now join Homeworld 3’s War Games mode with two brand new fleets. The ships in these fleets should feel instantly recognizable to anyone who has played Homeworld 1. The fleets consist of classically-inspired Taiidan ships, with some modern tweaks thrown into the mix.
These new Taiidan fleets will add a new depth to the War Games experience as they defy norms established by all other War Games fleets, such as relying on the Carrier and its Resource Collectors for harvesting resources and the ability to deploy a capital class ship, the Taiidan Missile Destroyer.
On Kharak, Kiith Somtaaw was a major religious and mining Kiith. After Kharak burned (spoiler!) and the Kushan people crossed the galaxy returning to their homeworld (Hiigara), the Somtaaw continued their mastery of mining, only this time in the vast reaches of space. Some rumors say they honed their combat skills by defeating a mysterious evil, others say they developed their skills with countless years of target practice smashing asteroids. These hardened Somtaaw warriors now join Homeworld 3’s War Games mode with two new units and two new fleets.
As a Hiigaran sub-faction, in addition to two brand new ships, you will notice several familiar ships forming the basis of these Somtaaw fleets. However, on closer inspection, you will see a few variations that speak to their mining heritage and the need for extra survivability in regions not protected by the core Hiigaran Navy. For example, they armed Resource Controllers and their heavy-hitting Carrier with Ion Beam turrets.
We thank you for your patience as we work to deliver our post-launch vision for Homeworld 3 in November. Many other elements are coming beyond what we unpacked above including new gameplay mechanics, optimizations to existing features, as well as bug fixes and performance improvements. Many of these were developed or solved through insights provided by the amazing Homeworld community. We’ll be sure to include detailed patch notes ahead of launch for your review.
