DLCDeserts of Kharak Expedition GuideLoading store offers
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak sends land and air fleets across a dangerous desert, where terrain and force composition shape each fight. At the recorded historical low, it costs ≈ $1.87 at 
GAMIVO, making this a fitting entry point for Rachel S’jet’s campaign if tactical real-time strategy is your draw. Online multiplayer, including ranked modes, gives the fleet command another way to play beyond the solo story. At $4.99 from GAMIVO, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is at the site's recorded historical low, pairing a clear buying opportunity with tactical desert warfare and fleet command.
GAMIVOHomeworld: Deserts of Kharak EN/DE/FR/IT Global-96%from~ $1.87(~ €1.66)ALL-TIME LOWSave $3.12 vs SteamBuy now
K4GHomeworld: Deserts of Kharak Standard Edition Steam CD KeyUnavailable in United States (1)
These offers are explicitly unavailable in United States — they cannot be purchased or activated there. You can still visit the store to review the restriction.
All-time low ~ $2.69across Steam & third-party storesat the recorded all-time low
Loading store offers
Wishlist price
Set a target to receive an email when an eligible offer in your selected region is at or below that amount.
Price History
Past 36 months · Updated dailyHistorical Low~ $0.002023-08Current Low Across Stores~ $4.24Epic Game Store
Prices cover Steam and 39 authorized stores; only legitimate offers are counted. The chart shows weekly market-wide lows and Steam's official price across the past 36 months.
01About Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a ground-based real-time strategy prequel to the classic Homeworld games. Lead land and air fleets across the desert, use terrain to shape engagements, and manage resources, fleet composition, and research. The Steam player rating is 79% across 7,818 reviews.
Credits
A
WRITER
Adrian Vershinin
Canadian video game writer
Composer
Paul Ruskay
Developer
Blackbird Interactive
Publisher
Gearbox Publishing · 2K
Lowest recorded in 36 months
$0.002023-08-24 · Epic Game StoreBase game · same records as the chart above; USD history, not a regional Steam low.Language support
| Language | Interface | Subtitles | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| French | Yes | Yes | — |
| Italian | Yes | Yes | — |
Show 4 more languages
| Language | Interface | Subtitles | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| German | Yes | Yes | — |
| Spanish | Yes | Yes | — |
| Russian | Yes | Yes | — |
| Polish | Yes | Yes | — |
Steam PC edition data · 2026-10-19
02Before you buy
Campaign and multiplayer
The campaign follows Rachel S’jet’s expedition across Kharak. Online multiplayer includes several modes, including ranked play.
Language
The Steam version has English audio and subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Spanish.
03Frequently asked questions
What kind of game is Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak?
It is a ground-based real-time strategy prequel to the classic Homeworld games.
What does the strategy gameplay involve?
Command land and air vehicle fleets, using terrain tactically while managing resources, fleet composition, and technology research.
Does it have multiplayer?
Yes. Steam PC multiplayer supports online play solo or with friends, including ranked matches.
Popular Steam reviews
Native-language selection · 10 reviewsSelected helpful reviews in this language show both recommendations and criticisms. This selection does not represent the overall positive rating; opinions reflect the version reviewed.
RecommendedSteam player
Deserts of Kharak is a well made sequel to Homeworld - tactic and RTS fans get their money's worth. Since I was fortunate enough to participate in the beta test I have played long enough to give you my review. Story The story is actually a prequel to Homeworld 1. In part 1 the intro reveals that alien artifacts have been found within the desert of Kharak which made the construction of a mighty spaceship possible. And the latest part Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak tells you the story about the search and excavation of the artifacts on the planet Kharak. Gameplay You control some sort of rolling aircraft carrier called Kapisi (your mobile HQ) through the life-threatening world of the planet Kharak. Kapisi allows you to store resources, research technologies, and the production of units. Although Kapisi has the functionality of a base, its mobility helps to set it apart from traditional RTS games. Thus a proper base building does not exist. You're looking for a suitable location and gather resources to enlarge your fleet and to research new technologies. Above everything else it's a strategy game. You can use the units from previous missions in upcoming ones, therefore you should keenly collect all resources and build units before moving on to the next mission. A unit limit prohibits you from taking too many units to the next mission. Grr. The roughly 15 hour long singleplayer campaign is tactically rather moderate and not very rapid. Most importantly you must take over good positions step by step to intercept your enemy, gather artifacts and finally destroy the enemy. In the online mode and skirmish battles everything's much more rapid, there are also 3 different win conditions in the skirmish gamemode. Otherwise one notices the well executed control system, the fitting sound, the good lighting effects and the breathtaking graphics within the gameplay. In terms of gameplay it's a well made game, though the shortness of the singleplayer campaign and the Interface, which needs getting used to, disturb a bit in the beginning. Pros: Breathtaking graphics and great effects thanks to the Unity engine Sound &. Music fit the game very well and sound great Easily learned and uncomplicated unit controls Good animations and short video sequences with real actors in between missions Well done and very innovative multiplayer mode. Expect tense fights with differing win conditions, like for example destroying the main base, total destruction or the hunt for artifacts (a kind of Capture the Flag) Good physics and you can use the terrain to your advantage Steam Achievements & Steamcloud Neutral: The AI is not completely stupid, but currently only hardly reacts to areal attacks and it's easy to properly position oneself, trick the AI and intercept the constantly reocurring attack pattern. There is no minimap but a tactical interface. "Only" 13 singleplayer story missions which are beaten within 12-15 hours on medium difficulty Cons: Newcomers to the Homeworld Series are left with unanswered questions regarding the story Interface and construction menu requires getting used to There is a pretty generous unit limit Conclusion: Someone who likes RTS should take a closer look at this innovative, graphically well done game, but only if one's not only keen on a singleplayer campaign, but also enjoys a few skirmishes or playing online. This review was written as a valuation inside of its own genre. Total rating: 8/10 If you liked this review or want to see more recommended games, be sure to follow our curator group: Follow Original Curator GroupShow moreShow less
22.3 hours at review398 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
Singleplayer campaign is only about 8 hours long. As someone with no interest in multiplayer, this game is not worth the whole asking price of 46€. Other than that, it was very enjoyable 8 hours.Show moreShow less
8 hours at review466 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
Positives: - Wonderful audio - Gameplay is very fun - Art Design and Graphics are good, the game looks very good overall - The story is fantastic, especially for a RTS. If you liked the old homeworld games lore, get this one asap. Interesting characters, well written story and dialogue. Did I just write that for a RTS game... Yup lol. Best writing in a RTS since World in Conflict. - The Atmosphere is very well done, it feels like Homeworld, oozes the whole feel perfectly Negatives Or Things that can be improved: - The AI needs some work - More maps would be nice (I have seen today the devs announced free maps are on the way down the road) If you prefer a slower RTS, over say Starcraft 2 or if you want a RTS with a great campaign that is well written and a blast to play, pick this up. Not perfect, but quite a good addition to the RTS genre, especially at a time when RTS games rarely come out and if they do they are usually multiplayer focused, nice to have one doing a good job with the campaign, story and atmosphere. Not as fast paced or twitchy as the popular starcraft2, but at the same time, the multiplayer in starcraft 2 has alot more options. I will post more impressions and thoughts late on when I have more hours on the game. So far it is very good though! Very Immersive, audio rocks, it looks nice and it is fun to play, despiate the ai issues and lack of maps for multi on launch.Show moreShow less
4 hours at review118 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
((UPDATE: This bug has -apparently- been fixed finally according to todays patch notes, so I w ill consider changing this review once I can finally try the game again to beat it.)) I want to reccomend this game, ..But a year ago, I reported a major game breaking bug, that -several- people were encountering, Mission 4, If you kill a production unit, while it is just about, or even finishing a unit, it will create an un-killable unit, that you can not hurt, can not interact with, and your own vehicles can't run into it, -however- the game thinks it is alive, and therefore you -can not beat the mission- and yet, Here it is a year later, and apparently the bug was never fixed, and people are -still- encountering the very bug that I posted a year ago, even in the same place and circumstances..... So I think the company kind of sold this and then left it...without fixes to game breaking bugs. I have seen reports of similar bugs appearing also on MIssion 5, and other levels it seems.Show moreShow less
10.3 hours at review435 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
Recently bought the homeworld games and started with this prequel. (never played homeworld before) Well first of all bravo to the devs with what they did to unity many levels hide the ugly engine with particle effects, and the particle effects in this game are top notch. Cutscenes combine engine scenes with moving paintings and painted 3d models. Very smoothly fiting togheter. And leaving a beautifull impression behind. Now the pro's and con's PRO - Original and engaging story - 3h hindu inspired OST that is amazing - I can keep my fleet over the missions - Or choose the default fleet if you mess up last mission - Saving during missions + checkpoints - Overall visually great RTS if you don't look to hard for unity flaws - I love the overview map that lets me zoom out a lot and macro manage NEG - Very short campaign, I did 30h but played most missions 3 times for max efficiency - Ending felt a little empty but you have 2 remastred games to continue with - Multiplayer, haha ooh and so many achievements for it, no its DEAD - No pause or screenshot mode - A very large portion of cutscenes are in the trailers, avoid to keep it fresh ingame - I had one 'bug' in mission 4 by killing a unit that should not be there but overall no other bugs KEYBOARD SPECIAL - This is really stupid and will put off untech savy people but you can not rebind the controls, There is a VERY EASY way to use autokey so you can use ESC and WASD for menu and movement respectively (F10 and ◄↕► on default). Still how on earth did they not start with this feature from dev day 1 it is really easy to do. Harder to shoe horn in later. CONCLUSION The campaign is very scripted and if you replay the missions you might exploit that a little. But that is on you. I bought the game for the story first. RTS second, not very good at them and I finished on highest difficulty no problem. AI is much harder in skirmish and mp modes. Overall I had a great time. Worth 46 euro? No, too short and no mp, but solid recommendation on sale EDIT: started playing Homeworld 1, And I do not get the critique from old fans, yes there are more varied missions and units but it is also very scripted and this game includes improvements like auto healing from units that can do so instead of micro managing every detail. While movmenent was better and more tactical in the old games. Kharak is still the best entry point for new players in the franchise to me, especially story wiseShow moreShow less
31.4 hours at review116 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
This will be my final write up on this review, as I have now completed the campaign and because of that alone my opinion is now a very, VERY cautious recommendation IF all you are after is the prequel story in a rushed format. If you're after replayability, hours of skirmishing etc, then go play Homeworld Remastered/Classics I've played the Classics since I was a kid back on a 98 os system (all the way through xp and windows 7, I've probably put over a 1000 hours into each) and I've put well over a 100 hours into remastered just so you know that this is an opinion on the game from someone who has been tainted with the previous Homeworlds. A new fans opinion may obviously vary from mine. I'll start off with the positive: The art style of the cutscenes is fantastic, it's actually something I wish other media would uptake it's so pretty. The music is classic Homeworld, desperate and dramatic tones of orchestra, it's great. There's more dynamic battlechatter (for example when an enemy is detected but not seen units will report they have signals but no visual conformation) which is a very nice touch Guard formations are back, (took us this long to get that back?) Atmosphere and story is very homeworld, a desperate struggle against a formiddable enemy Love the fact Rachel is a unit, any game which lets you some way have a badass chick is usually good in my books Artifact recovery is a fun little thing to do, and it's a great asset, they offer great strengthening factors to your fleet The prequel story is very compelling, not to spoil anything but after the end of this I immediately went and started playing Homeworld 1 again Now the negative: The game looks like arse when compared to remastered, even on ultra, ship textures are okay and the explosions are....okay, but the other FX look pretty poor and the sand textures look extremely lat and lifeless, to the point where I look at the screenshots above and scoff. Combat has a serious lack of individual unit importance, the only way you can win is mostly by unit spam, you'll throw a lot of the starting units straight to the winds There's no ballistics, at least from what I can tell, rail gun hits seem to be RNG and everything else is just falsely animated when compared to what's actually shooting and what's actually taking damage No docking? No harvester drop off animations? What? TERRIBLE unit clipping, like half the stuff on the surface doesn't actually exist, I've got scavengers just driving through the wreck of the Kalash like it's nobodies business Very little unit variation both in each race and between the two races, one race hovers and the other doesn't but in terms of combat they are identical Only 5 maps for Skirmish/Online The controls are pretty butchered, unnecessary button changes to a system that was well understood and well loved, and you can't even get that system back because the controls are NOT-REBINDABLE No ALT focusing, making trying to keep an eye on your units in combat even more difficult without them clipping through sand, mountains, bigger units and resources Unit target priority is very odd, rail guns will try to shoot tiny fast LAV's while another railgun is killing them, it's like they just defend themselves from what they see first which will ALWAYS be the LAV's I know this is precise but, the support carriers guns will all fire when in combat, even if not all of them are on target, so you get bullets just flying off the thing in random directions for no reason Missiles and bombs have very random velocities, they'll launch/drop at reasonable speeds but as soon as they get close to a target they'll accelerate to ridiculous speeds and perform seriously unbelieveable changes in direction. I understand a bit of smudging to make stuff like that hit but, this is immersion breaking I find very few of the scenarious in the campaign to be imaginative, you've got your standard first mission of testing resourcing, production and the like and from there's it's just been engage and destroy the enemy mostly (as well as the aforementioned artifacts to recover) Skirmish AI is both useless and a dirty cheater at harvesting resources much faster than you ever could Camera gets stuck at certain zooms sometimes Sometimes turret animations will simply fail and rounds will come out the back of them instead of through the barrel Of course some of this can be fixed in patches, we NEED Alt focusing again and we DEFINITELY need rebindable controls, as well as a fix for the buggy clipping, certain odd unit behaviour and some busted animations My final word is that I really want to say I enjoyed this, hell I probably did, the campaign (as un-imaginative as it is) is enough to make you want to complete it, but that's pretty much all you're getting. If you're a die-hard Homeworld fan and you want to experience this epic journey of the great expedition then be prepared to experience the feeling of a very rushed game along with it. Buggy animations, unit clipping, fairly certain I've mentioned it all. And it will ruin the immersive moments, even the end of the game was almost ruined for me, as the final scene plays and the beautiful animation style shows us the sky of Kharak, Rachel was saying her piece and was interrupted twice by the blockhead Intel Officer saying "Galsien fighters approaching" even after I'd killed every single last one of them. I just chose to ignore him (the bastard)Show moreShow less
10.5 hours at review420 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
The best RTS Ive played in a long time, hands down. The campaign is an absolute masterpiece. Great atmosphere, immersion, visual style and music. SUPERB mission design. Every mission is very different without being gimmicky, and offers a wide variety of strategic play. The game favors strategy and tactical control over twitch micro, much like previous Homeworld games. 10/10 While somewhat slim on multiplayer features at release, DoK has already had 3 major patches, with a fourth coming this month. The developers continue to support this game with new maps, multiplayer features and balance changes, and DLC. The MP community is rather small, but very friendly and welcoming to new players. If you like RTS, Homeworld, or Sci-Fi, buy this game.Show moreShow less
731.8 hours at review112 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
A solid RTS, marred by a poor campaign filled with fake difficulty. Why does every RTS maker these days feel the need to add "excitement" by making every mission some stupid exercise in futility, where the enemy outnumbers you 10 to 1, you have very limited resources, there is a time limit, you have to defend 3 horribly exposed locations against endless enemy waves at the same time, and all kinds of similar BS? What happened to building up a base and smashing the enemy? I miss the days of classic RTS games.Show moreShow less
15.3 hours at review331 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
Just finished the game! Pro: The game itself is pretty decent! It`s definitely worth playing it! Really interesting gameplay! Good graphics! Battles are really impressive! Con: The only negative side is that the game is pretty short! 8/10Show moreShow less
9 hours at review103 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
The best way to describe this game is "meh." The artistic work that went into the game is top notch. I love the sober atmosphere of the game and I genuinely feel immersed in the action when I listen to the background radio chatter between units during the battle lulls. The only problem I have with the game, unforntunately, is the gameplay itself. It's just bland for an RTS. Unit pathfinding is atrocious at times, which is unforgivable for an RTS in this era. Another annoyance is how the enemy always seems to outnumber you and spends apparently infinite resources. This is very frustrating for a game that limits your unit capacity and gives you only finite resources to spend. Then to top it off, the game triggers events as you progress to certain waypoints. This inventivizes the player to stop engaging with the missions and just scour around the maps for resources before progressing. The least they could do is give you any remaining resources after the mission is over or something. So in short, it'll probably entertain you for 10-20 hours, but don't expect much beyond that.Show moreShow less
10.5 hours at review305 people found this helpful
Source: original Steam user reviews. Helpful votes are an archived snapshot, not live data. Last collected: 08/15/2026.