The Game Census
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak cover art

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

Blackbird Interactive · Gearbox Publishing · 2016-01-20

SteamGOGEpic Games Store

Strategy

Modes: Single player, Multiplayer · Perspectives: Bird view / Isometric

Releases: Jan 20, 2016 (Mac), Jan 20, 2016 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

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.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a 2016 Strategy game priced at $49.99, with an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 owners and a Mostly Positive review sentiment (79% of 8933 reviews).

18
playing now
79%
positive of 8.9k reviews
Mostly Positive
steam's rating (official)
500,000–1,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
85/100
critic score (7 outlets, IGDB)
79/100
IGDB user rating (30 ratings)
2
Nexus mods (220 downloads)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$49.99
steam price (US)

18 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 11:00 UTC (census sample)

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a real-time strategy video game developed by Blackbird Interactive and published by Gearbox Software. The game was released on January 20, 2016, and is a prequel to the 1999 space-based real-time strategy video game Homeworld.

Trailer

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak trailer thumbnail

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak Launch Trailer

≈149,956 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 18 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 197 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~25/week).
  • · Review velocity down 12% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 4% of 14,126 Strategy games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 223k–536k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 8,933 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

Fanatical$4.24-92%
GreenManGaming$4.50-91%
GOG$4.99-90%
Steam$4.99-90%
GOG$4.99-90%

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $2.69 at GameBillet (2021-08-28) · bundled 2×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $49.99 · on sale 141 of 182 observed days · $1.55 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
14714720182026Week of 2018-01-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 73 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 99 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 65 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 57 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 147 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 26 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 84 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 65 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 105 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 58 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 63 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 70 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 52 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 125 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 78 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 57 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 55 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 108 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 57 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 93 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 57 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 86 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 63 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 57 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 35 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 39 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 26 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 68 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 4 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

43102026-09-15 12:00 — 21 players2026-09-16 21:00 — 20 players2026-09-18 04:00 — 24 players2026-09-19 12:00 — 20 players2026-09-20 19:00 — 31 players2026-09-22 03:00 — 18 players2026-09-23 10:00 — 16 players2026-09-24 18:00 — 21 players2026-09-26 01:00 — 19 players2026-09-27 09:00 — 24 players2026-09-28 16:00 — 35 players2026-09-30 00:00 — 12 players2026-10-01 07:00 — 14 players2026-10-02 15:00 — 21 players2026-10-03 23:00 — 20 players2026-10-05 07:00 — 12 players2026-10-06 14:00 — 31 players2026-10-07 22:00 — 21 players2026-10-09 05:00 — 20 players2026-10-10 13:00 — 30 players2026-10-11 20:00 — 37 players2026-10-13 04:00 — 25 players2026-10-14 11:00 — 18 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
6187Dec 2015Aug 2026Dec 2015 — avg 7 · peak 36Apr 2016 — avg 85 · peak 253Aug 2016 — avg 65 · peak 136Dec 2016 — avg 149 · peak 627Apr 2017 — avg 45 · peak 91Aug 2017 — avg 57 · peak 126Dec 2017 — avg 93 · peak 230Apr 2018 — avg 54 · peak 127Aug 2018 — avg 46 · peak 96Dec 2018 — avg 92 · peak 315Apr 2019 — avg 37 · peak 81Aug 2019 — avg 79 · peak 935Dec 2019 — avg 76 · peak 173Apr 2020 — avg 166 · peak 887Aug 2020 — avg 62 · peak 123Dec 2020 — avg 82 · peak 192Apr 2021 — avg 49 · peak 106Aug 2021 — avg 60 · peak 116Dec 2021 — avg 114 · peak 277Apr 2022 — avg 55 · peak 113Aug 2022 — avg 145 · peak 624Dec 2022 — avg 92 · peak 208Apr 2023 — avg 50 · peak 103Aug 2023 — avg 78 · peak 259Dec 2023 — avg 62 · peak 116Apr 2024 — avg 44 · peak 89Aug 2024 — avg 28 · peak 62Dec 2024 — avg 33 · peak 69Apr 2025 — avg 30 · peak 60Aug 2025 — avg 26 · peak 53Dec 2025 — avg 27 · peak 59Apr 2026 — avg 33 · peak 69Aug 2026 — avg 27 · peak 73
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$49.99$2.802015-12-162026-10-142015-12-16 — best price $49.992017-07-07 — best price $16.492018-02-27 — best price $49.992018-11-27 — best price $49.992019-05-23 — best price $49.992019-11-01 — best price $49.992020-04-09 — best price $49.992020-12-16 — best price $4.502021-03-02 — best price $42.392021-04-23 — best price $42.252021-06-09 — best price $4.992021-09-03 — best price $4.992021-12-02 — best price $49.992022-02-24 — best price $43.992022-07-01 — best price $4.992022-09-26 — best price $4.992022-12-19 — best price $4.292023-03-23 — best price $49.992023-07-17 — best price $49.992023-10-04 — best price $39.492023-12-02 — best price $49.992024-02-05 — best price $49.992024-04-01 — best price $49.992024-10-16 — best price $4.302025-02-10 — best price $4.992025-05-12 — best price $12.492025-08-14 — best price $4.992025-11-03 — best price $49.992026-01-28 — best price $4.302026-03-27 — best price $4.992026-05-21 — best price $3.922026-07-23 — best price $2.952026-08-25 — best price $3.992026-09-19 — best price $4.502026-10-14 — best price $4.24
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

60162026-05-27 — 38 pageviews2026-05-31 — 52 pageviews2026-06-04 — 45 pageviews2026-06-08 — 38 pageviews2026-06-12 — 27 pageviews2026-06-16 — 39 pageviews2026-06-20 — 32 pageviews2026-06-24 — 29 pageviews2026-06-28 — 60 pageviews2026-07-02 — 27 pageviews2026-07-06 — 45 pageviews2026-07-10 — 34 pageviews2026-07-14 — 34 pageviews2026-07-18 — 36 pageviews2026-07-22 — 30 pageviews2026-07-26 — 26 pageviews2026-07-30 — 36 pageviews2026-08-03 — 33 pageviews2026-08-07 — 30 pageviews2026-08-11 — 54 pageviews2026-08-15 — 29 pageviews2026-08-19 — 24 pageviews2026-08-23 — 40 pageviews2026-08-27 — 49 pageviews2026-08-31 — 46 pageviews2026-09-04 — 50 pageviews2026-09-08 — 40 pageviews2026-09-12 — 25 pageviews2026-09-16 — 39 pageviews2026-09-20 — 39 pageviews2026-09-24 — 46 pageviews2026-09-28 — 40 pageviews2026-10-02 — 24 pageviews2026-10-06 — 26 pageviews2026-10-10 — 41 pageviews2026-10-12 — 35 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

48
achievements tracked
75.2%
earned "Epsilon Base"
0.4%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSSingle-playerMulti-playerSteam AchievementsSteam Trading CardsCustom Volume ControlsAdjustable DifficultySave AnytimeSteam CloudStatsSteam Leaderboards4 DLC

6 supported languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Russian

Post-launch support: 4 DLC released, first 2016-01-20, latest 2016-04-26 (Steam store data)

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)9,9930%48

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

RTSSpaceActionSci-fiStrategyTacticalAdventureReal-TimeFuturisticStory Rich

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Recent updates

Players also track

Distant Worlds: UniverseImagine EarthStellarisSol 0: Mars ColonizationPlanetbaseFortsPolaris SectorAge of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition

Similarity via IGDB.

Wikipedia ↗Official site ↗Reddit ↗Speedruns ↗