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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 for PC from Blackbird Interactive.
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-08-31 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-12.
What reviewers agree on
68 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“the game itself is a good strategy game, the problem is you have to install epic game's overlay”
“---{Graphics}--- ☑ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ Paint.exe ---{Gameplay}--- ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ It‘s just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Starring at walls is better ☐…”
“Fun game, story was alright, not deep. But enjoyable and different for an RTS game. No mod support sadly. good for a play through or two.”
23 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“---{Graphics}--- ☑ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ Paint.exe ---{Gameplay}--- ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ It‘s just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Starring at walls is better ☐…”
“Its a great game, even in his age, but i only recommend it for players who really like strategy games, and the graphic is absolutely insane.”
“Look, i love this game. The reason i am not going to recommend this is because Gearbox (now 2k) has done absolutely no ♥♥♥♥ in fixing its bugs. I have been playing with a decent community for a past 2-3 years. Every…”
17 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“"May the blood-sand quiet the great slumber of Sajuuk." Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, or “Homeworld: Zero” as this one guy I know likes to call it. Is the fourth game in the Homeworld series and the prequel to Homeworld…”
“Fun game, story was alright, not deep. But enjoyable and different for an RTS game. No mod support sadly. good for a play through or two.”
“Fun gameplay, compelling story, and lastly this game has such a high quality of production (audio engineering gets a special hat-tip) it rivals the big boys. High praise to their teams.”
11 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“---{Graphics}--- ☑ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ Paint.exe ---{Gameplay}--- ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ It‘s just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Starring at walls is better ☐…”
“Fun gameplay, compelling story, and lastly this game has such a high quality of production (audio engineering gets a special hat-tip) it rivals the big boys. High praise to their teams.”
“I've had this game for a long time, however it is only now i can write this review. I have been an RTS fan as long as i can remember, my first game was 94's CNC on the PS1 and i was hooked by the base building,…”
6 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“Get it on sale, it's frequently $5. But it's incredible game that I wish there was more content to. I haven't found something that quite scratches the same itch. In a lot of ways, I love it even more than Homeworld 1 +…”
“For 5 dollars it's okay, but i don't really enjoy the little i've played so far. I was a big fan of command and conquer years ago so i decided to give it a shot, but i didn't really like what i saw. The campaign story…”
“It's a good game and the graphics hold up well. Pity you spend most of the game zoomed in map view. It's campaign + skirmish only; the campaign isn't that long, and the rather same-y units in skirmish limits replay…”
10 of the 102 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“I am not enjoying it. I am a die-hard Homeworld fan and respect and admire the artistry of the originals. This game? It's not homeworld. You cannot compare being in space and the numinous awe that brings with being on a…”
“I loved HW, liked HW2, loved HWC. Was hugely disappointed with this back when it came out. The game claims to be Homeworld but is actually Dune 2, except somehow worse. The mechanics which are forgivable for a 3D space…”
“For 5 dollars it's okay, but i don't really enjoy the little i've played so far. I was a big fan of command and conquer years ago so i decided to give it a shot, but i didn't really like what i saw. The campaign story…”
7 of the 102 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“Fun game, story was alright, not deep. But enjoyable and different for an RTS game. No mod support sadly. good for a play through or two.”
“Look, i love this game. The reason i am not going to recommend this is because Gearbox (now 2k) has done absolutely no ♥♥♥♥ in fixing its bugs. I have been playing with a decent community for a past 2-3 years. Every…”
“how to enjoy - ignore the store page go to guides roll game version back all the way. that said i still had bugs and losing all save campaigns, random language changes....leaves a bitter taste.”
7 of the 102 reviews raise this · 1 of them still recommend the game.
“Look, i love this game. The reason i am not going to recommend this is because Gearbox (now 2k) has done absolutely no ♥♥♥♥ in fixing its bugs. I have been playing with a decent community for a past 2-3 years. Every…”
“Settings is totally broken. Can't choose anything. Stop breaking games!!!”
“how to enjoy - ignore the store page go to guides roll game version back all the way. that said i still had bugs and losing all save campaigns, random language changes....leaves a bitter taste.”
7 of the 102 reviews raise this · 1 of them still recommend the game.
“it wants to install epic on my computer which I don't want.”
“the game itself is a good strategy game, the problem is you have to install epic game's overlay”
“This game used to run as a single program. Now the publisher has baked their own proprietary launcher into it so you would have to install YET ANOTHER LAUNCHER to play it. I don't know why insist on this lunacy.”
6 of the 102 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“I loved HW, liked HW2, loved HWC. Was hugely disappointed with this back when it came out. The game claims to be Homeworld but is actually Dune 2, except somehow worse. The mechanics which are forgivable for a 3D space…”
“Deserts of Kharak is a weird take on the original, but not bad—not by any means. The cars behave the same as the ships, but you no longer have to deal with the third dimension. Everything else remains untouched. The…”
“I think this is my favorite Homeworld game after the masterpiece that the first game was. It's the game that best matches the tone and the presentation of the original, and it successfully translates the mechanics and…”
Counted across 102 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 79.3% positive rating · as of 2026-05-12
“Please make some sort of user friendly and easy to use map/scenario editor which the player will able to add building and others infrastucture which will make this homeworld version as the best ever with an endless replayability. Heck please make infantry as well if you dont…”
— a player, Steam review · 1 hrs played“An alright game. Bought it for the campaign. The story is shallow but presentation, theming and dialogues are very all good. I don't think that the game is difficult however the later mission often include enemy carriers that endlessly spawn-in units which is anoying and can get…”
— a player, Steam review · 15 hrs played“Updates broke the game so that it is now impossible to control grouped units. We also now have to put up with Epic Service spyware which is NOT mentioned anywhere in the installation details.”
— a player, Steam review · 13 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-09-05.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-09-10). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Time to Play: The 2K Summer Sale is Officially Live on Steam
The 2K Summer Sale is officially live on Steam, and it’s the perfect excuse to find your next great escape. Summer is about having the time to truly immerse yourself, dive deep into a world, and remem
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak 1.4.4 Update
Hello, Homeworld fans. We’re happy to share a new update is available now for Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. This update should download automatically; if you’re having trouble, try restarting your Ste
Patch 1.4.4
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak 1.4.4 Update Hello, Homeworld fans. We’re happy to share a new update is available now for Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. This update should download automatically; if you’
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak 1.4.3 Update
A new update is available today for all Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak players. The 1.4.3 Update makes further progress on our commitment to improve online stability for multiplayer matchmaking by addre
Patch 1.4.3
A new update is available today for all Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak players. The 1.4.3 Update makes further progress on our commitment to improve online stability for multiplayer matchmaking by addre
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-12.
| Genres | Strategy |
| Player tags | Strategy · RTS · Sci-fi · Multiplayer · Story Rich · Great Soundtrack · Space · Female Protagonist · Atmospheric · Singleplayer · Action · Futuristic (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Multi-player · Steam Achievements · Steam Trading Cards · Custom Volume Controls · Adjustable Difficulty · Save Anytime · Steam Cloud |
| Languages | English * , French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Russian, Polish * |
| Achievements | 48 |
| Official site | http://www.desertsofkharak.com |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS *: Windows 7/8/10 Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1 GHz) / AMD A10 5800k (3.8 GHz) Memory: 3 GB RAM Graphics: GeForce GT 440 (1024 MB) / Radeon HD 4890 (1024 MB) Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 8 GB available space