PAX South 2015: Gearbox announces release date, shows footage of Homeworld

The first footage of the remade Homeworld saga was shown off by Gearbox Software at PAX South this past weekend, and it does not disappoint.

Seriously, that’s a thing of beauty right there. The game, which already looked pretty sharp and really has held up quite well, looks head and shoulders better since Gearbox got ahold of it and went to work. Both Homeworld 1 and 2 are included in the package too, so there’s plenty of incredible looking (and playing) space-based RTS action here.

This is something of a labor of love for the company too as the Chief Creative Officer at Gearbox, Brian Martel, is a massive fan of the property. So big of a fan that he actually “spearheaded” the effort to grab the license from THQ as that company went under.

“Homeworld is among the greatest strategy games in history, and we’re very proud of the work our team has put into bringing this exceptional series to modern PCs,” said Brian Martel, Chief Creative Officer at Gearbox Software. “We received a lot of great feedback from the passionate Homeworld fan community, and we hope to deliver a game they – and new fans from around the world – can get lost in for countless hours to come.”

Homeworld Remastered Collection is set to include not only both games in the series, but also two versions of each- the originals and the new remakes. That way gamers who remember and love the originals can still load them up and let the nostalgia wash over them if they so desire. Gearbox also made the launch date official at the press event for the game, and it’s coming sooner than you might have guessed… a lot sooner actually, as the game(s) will be hitting the PC on February 25th, which is less than a month away.

Also announced, and something of a surprise, is that there’s a brand new game in the series on the way from Gearbox and developer Blackbird Interactive. You may not have heard of them, but basically all you have to know is that the co-founder of the series’ creator (Relic Entertainment) Rob Cunningham is also a co-founder at Blackbird. So with that news, you can probably rest assured that Homeworld Shipbreakers, which is actually a prequel to the first game, is in good hands.

“It is a very special and rare thing to see a project so close to your heart not only get re-released, but remastered with such loving care and attention,” said Rob Cunningham, who co-founded Relic Entertainment and served as the original art director of Homeworld . He later co-founded Blackbird Interactive, which is developing Homeworld Shipbreakers. “That fact alone is a wonderful privilege for me, but it is beyond rare to be working on an all-new entry as well! I have been sucked into a bubbling time-vortex hot tub of Homeworld – and I love it.”

No release date as of yet for Shipbreakers, but you’ll have plenty of warping and zapping to do with Homeworld Remastered Collection for the time being.