Hardware: Shipbreakers Becomes an Official Homeworld Sequel

[StewShearerOld]

Hardware: Shipbreakers Becomes an Official Homeworld Sequel

Gearbox is providing financial support and the Homeworld IP to help turn Hardware: Shipbreakers into an official franchise sequel.

You may recall Blackbird Interactive <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124422-Hardware-Shipbreakers-Teases-Glorious-Gameplay>showing off gameplay footage from its title Hardware: Shipbreakers back in May. The game caught the attention of many Homeworld fans, which was no big surprise when you consider that Blackbird itself was created by the founders of Relic, the studio behind the original Homeworld series. Shipbreakers was, in fact, intended to be a spiritual successor to Homeworld, something evident from the released footage.

In a potentially wonderful twist however, Shipbreakers will now be taking on the role of a full-fledged sequel in the actual Homeworld series. This is happening as a result of a deal between <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123447-Gearbox-Snags-Homeworld-Rights>IP-holder Gearbox Software and Blackbird that was forged at PAX Dev and revealed at PAX Prime. Hardware: Shipbreakers will henceforth be known as Homeworld: Shipbreakers and Gearbox will be offering support in the game's completion. "These guys have been funded by private equity, but it's clear it was going to take many millions of dollars more," explained Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford. "We're giving them the brand and the resources to make this happen. Now, these guys are cooking and with the money they have now, they can grow the team."

The agreement was a result, in part, of Blackbird's desire to see the Homeworld live on in a more active way. "We didn't want it to go to a publisher that would let it die," said Aaron Kambeitz, chief creative officer for Blackbird. "We reached out to [Gearbox] and congratulated them on [winning the IP] and that turned into a friendship." With the financial support being offered by Gearbox, Blackbird is currently hiring new staff to help develop and "retcon" Shipbreakers into an official part of the Homeworld franchise. Gearbox itself is keeping busy with promised <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126166-Gearbox-Announces-HD-Remakes-of-Homeworld-1-And-2>HD versions of Homeworld and Homeworld 2, in addition to other ongoing projects.

Source: <a href=http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/1/4684456/gearbox-homeworld-ip-hardware-shipbreakers>Polygon





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[Boris Goodenough]

Wow, this makes me a happy camper!

 

[wulfgar_red]

i was hoping for fresh start, fresh universe with this one. i was happy knowing what people make it and what they want to do. i didn't care about brand sticker. as for financial support I'm afraid what kind of strings they attached to the money.

 

[Cecilo]

It should have just been a fresh start, a new universe. The people who made Homeworld, Cataclysm and Homeworld 2 already told their story, it was finished.

At this point they are going to tie it into it very loosely, call it part of Homeworld, raise peoples hopes and dreams, only to dash it because it isn't exactly what they want, it won't be as popular because of how fondly people remember Homeworld, it will be labeled a failure and thrown into the waste bin. Never to be used again.

 

[Buizel91]

Great...now what about Impossible Creatures?!?!?!?!

 

[Zhukov]

Ehhh... it's cool that they're getting the cash that they need, but I'd have preferred a fresh IP.

Besides, wasn't this going to be a F2P multiplayer-only game? Does this mean they'll be adding single player?

 

[octafish]

The addition of Gearbox just about guarantees failure these days doesn't it? They would have been better off going it alone.

 

[Bindal]

The addition of Gearbox just about guarantees failure these days doesn't it? They would have been better off going it alone.

Actually, only if Gearbox WORKS on the title (they just give money in this case) and then only if the game isn't called "Borderlands".
What we got now is "Gearbox gives money and watches".

 

[Smooth Operator]

Not sure how to feel about this, ideally this sort of thing would spell out nothing but good fortune... however Gearbox has done this before with well established franchises, and the results were less then impressive.

 

[Strazdas]

The developers are the right team, the game looks right, the IP is given to them without interference, and yet the giant shadow of gearbox makes me feel uneasy.

 

[K.ur]

The death of thq gifts as with another game.
I hope this will go its path, like deep silver brought saints row back to quality "tongue in cheek"-humor.

captcha: weasel words. Ha ha . . . Wait? Hey!

 

[Haakmed]

Excellent news. Now any idea of a time frame?

 

[Andy Chalk]

The big question right now is, will it still be a free-to-play multiplayer-only RTS? If the answer is "yes," then the answer is, "no."

 

[nuttshell]

Never considered this a possibility.
A pleasant surprise.

Now let us have a single player campaign in heaven and all is well with the world.

 

[antidonkey]

While Gearbox has had plenty of issues as of late, I still have faith in them. Admittedly, it won't take much more for that to disappear. In this instance, I'm glad Gearbox is backing this project and reviving the Homeworld name. Those games are the only ones I've ever described as beautiful.

 

[DSK-]

This is all I can think to post on the subject.