Homeworld 2 is a 2003 real-time strategy game that follows Homeworld. It was created by Relic Entertainment and released by Sierra Entertainment. The story is about Hiigara dealing with a new enemy called the Vaygr. The game features improved graphics and sound compared to the first game. Unlike the similar Kushan and Taiidan forces in the original game, the Vaygr and Hiigaran spaceships have very different designs and uses.

Gameplay

Homeworld 2 uses the same movement system and three-dimensional play area as its predecessor. Players move units in three dimensions by combining mouse movements with keyboard commands to adjust the vertical position (z-axis) of the destination.

Gameplay in Homeworld 2 relies on "Resource Units" (RUs), which are gathered by harvester ships. RUs are used to build ships and research technology, limiting the combinations of shipbuilding and technology development possible in a single game.

The player's fleet is led by the Mothership. If the Mothership is destroyed, the game ends immediately in single-player mode and is a major loss in multiplayer mode. The Mothership can build all ships except the largest ones, which must be constructed at orbital facilities and arrive through hyperspace. It can also build Carriers, which can produce any ship from the Fighter, Corvette, and Frigate classes. While the Mothership starts as the main source of research, Carriers and Shipyards can also build their own Research Labs.

All units in Homeworld 2 are starships divided into classes: Fighter, Corvette, Frigate, and Capital Ship. Larger ships are stronger and more durable but slower and less maneuverable. Ships within the same class have specialized roles and may be vulnerable to specific enemy types, though not all ships in a class share the same weaknesses. For example, Ion Cannon Frigates are weak against fighters because their single weapon is slow to aim, while Flak Frigates are designed to fight fighters but lack defenses against other frigates. Success depends on using each ship’s strengths effectively.

Homeworld 2 allows players to capture enemy ships using specialized frigates. These frigates approach enemy vessels and send boarding parties to take control after a short time. Using multiple frigates on the same target speeds up capture. However, frigates are vulnerable during the boarding process, and any progress is lost if they are destroyed.

Although Homeworld 2 does not have a set difficulty level, it adjusts the challenge based on the player’s fleet when entering a level. This led to a strategy where players intentionally destroyed all their ships at the end of a level, leaving them as RUs to use for building a stronger fleet against weaker enemies in the next level. The game also sets limits on how many ships of each class a player can control at once, a rule introduced in earlier versions.

In single-player mode, mission goals are usually completed by destroying key enemy targets, capturing specific units, protecting certain ships for a set time, or towing objects back to the Mothership. Many missions also require destroying all enemy units.

Homeworld 2 can be played online with up to five other players.

Plot

Homeworld 2 continues the story of the Hiigarans and their leader, Karan S'jet. In the first game, players could choose to control either the Kushan or Taiidan races. In the sequel, the Kushan are now the official main characters.

In the events of the first game (and shown in the prequel, Deserts of Kharak), the Kushan people from the planet Kharak discovered the wreckage of the Khar-Toba, a spaceship that travels between stars, in the Great Desert. Inside, they found an ancient device called a Hyperspace Core and a stone map that revealed the Kushan had been moved to Kharak long ago. The map also showed the way to their lost home planet, Hiigara. The Kushan built a large, self-sufficient Mothership powered by the Hyperspace Core to carry 600,000 people across the galaxy to Hiigara. During their journey, they fought the Taiidan Empire, which had banished them, and faced many challenges. With help from the Bentusi, a powerful and mysterious race of traders, the Kushan reached Hiigara and defeated the Taiidan Emperor, claiming their homeworld.

The Hyperspace Core found in the Khar-Toba was the second of only three known to exist in the galaxy. These were left behind by an ancient race called the Progenitors. The first Core was owned by the Bentusi. The third Core was lost until about 100 years after the Kushan reclaimed Hiigara, when a Vaygr warlord named Makaan found it. Makaan used the third Core to power his massive Flagship and began a campaign to conquer parts of the Taiidan Empire and nearby star systems. At the start of Homeworld 2, Makaan is trying to capture Hiigara. Religious beings in the galaxy believe the discovery of the third Core signals the End Times, when a powerful being named Sajuuk will return. Makaan believes he is Sajuuk-Khar, a chosen leader who will unite the three Cores and bring Sajuuk back.

The game begins with the construction of a new Mothership, the Pride of Hiigara, at the Great Derelict at Tanis. The Pride of Hiigara looks similar to the original Mothership and is commanded by Karan S'jet, as in the first game. During construction, the ship is attacked by the Vaygr but escapes to rally the Hiigaran fleet. Makaan’s fleet attacks Hiigara and offers the Hiigarans a deal: if they give him the second Core, he will leave Hiigara alone.

The Bentusi tell the Hiigarans they must find Balcora Gate, a structure left by the Progenitors, which holds something important for stopping the Vaygr or the End Times. The Hiigarans find a Progenitor Dreadnought in the wreckage of an old Progenitor Mothership, which is needed to unlock Balcora Gate. They briefly fight a Progenitor Keeper, an ancient AI-controlled ship that is nearly unstoppable. The last Bentusi ship, the Great Harbor Ship of Bentus, sacrifices itself after being attacked by four Progenitor Keepers, leaving its Core for the Hiigarans to use against Makaan. Makaan also learns about Balcora Gate, and the game’s final mission takes place there. Both the Hiigarans and Vaygr discover that Sajuuk is actually a massive Progenitor starship that can hold all three Hyperspace Cores.

The Hiigaran fleet attacks Makaan’s Flagship and destroys it, claiming the third Core from the wreckage. With all three Cores, the Hiigarans reactivate Sajuuk, leaving the Pride of Hiigara behind, and return it to Hiigara to end the Vaygr siege. Sajuuk destroys the Vaygr’s planet-killer weapons, saving Hiigara. Later, Sajuuk is revealed to be the key to a galaxy-wide network of hyperspace gates, starting a new era of trade and prosperity called the Age of Karan S'jet, the true Sajuuk-Khar.

Like the original Homeworld, the game includes several characters with important roles:

• Karan S'jet: The main protagonist, a scientist who became the living core of the original Mothership, returns as Fleet Command on the Pride of Hiigara to lead the Hiigaran fleet against the Vaygr. She is voiced by Jennifer Dawne Graveness, replacing Heidi Ernest, who could not return due to personal circumstances but later returned for the Remastered Collection.
• Fleet Intelligence: A male character who analyzes data and gives mission objectives during the single-player campaign. He is not heard in multiplayer. He is voiced by Eli Gabay in the original game and by Michael Sunczyk in the Remastered Edition.
• Captain Soban: Commander of the Ferin Sha fleet, which helps defend the Pride of Hiigara during a Vaygr attack.
• Captain Elohim: Commander of a Kiith Nabaal shipyard that later joins the Mothership fleet.
• Makaan: The main antagonist, a Vaygr warlord who rules an interstellar domain including parts of the Taiidan Empire. He believes he is Sajuuk-Khar, the chosen one who will unite the three Cores and bring Sajuuk back. He is voiced by Mark Oliver.

Development

Homeworld 2 uses a special scripting language called SCAR (SCripting At Relic), along with other languages. SCAR was made specifically for coding in Homeworld 2 and handles events in the single-player campaign, such as zooming out with the camera, creating enemy ships, and moving the player to the next level. Homeworld 2 also uses version 4.0 of the Lua programming language. Lua is used for in-game levels saved as .level files, artificial intelligence, and a Rules Engine that manages game logic. Developers set many variables in Homeworld 2, including ambient light, background settings, the placement of starting positions and asteroids, and other details.

The soundtrack of Homeworld 2 was created by Paul Ruskay, as in the earlier parts of the series.

Reception

Homeworld 2 received a score of 85% at GameRankings and 83 out of 100 at Metacritic. It also earned a 9 out of 10 from IGN. GameSpot named it the best computer game of September 2003.

The scenery and background graphics were praised by reviewers.

At the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Homeworld 2 for "Computer Strategy Game of the Year."

Legacy

In August 2004, about a year after Homeworld 2 was released, Relic Studios was bought by THQ for around $10 million. Since THQ was a competitor of Sierra Entertainment and Vivendi Universal, it was unlikely that a Homeworld sequel would happen because Sierra still owned the rights to the Homeworld game series until September 2007. At that time, THQ announced it was negotiating with Vivendi to buy the rights to the Homeworld franchise. In November 2007, THQ confirmed it had acquired the rights to the Homeworld franchise but did not mention plans for a sequel. Eurogamer reported in November 2008 that Relic was "definitely looking" at making Homeworld 3. Jonny Ebbert, the lead designer of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, said, "We're really happy the IP has made its way home, and yeah, we're definitely looking at it. We'll see what happens in the future." He also said there was always a chance a sequel could be in development without being announced. The strongest sign that Homeworld 3 was being made came from Relic’s General Manager, Tarnie Williams, who said "three or four" projects were in development but did not give more details. In 2011, Relic said they would "like to develop Homeworld 3" but did not confirm or deny if they were working on it. In early 2013, THQ faced financial problems and sold its assets because of bankruptcy. Relic was sold to SEGA, but the Homeworld rights were not part of the sale. Despite early hopes that SEGA would help save the Homeworld rights, the rights were eventually sold to Gearbox Software. Gearbox said they would bring the existing Homeworld games to digital platforms and asked fans for ideas about the series’ future. Blackbird Interactive, a new company made up of many original Homeworld designers, supported Gearbox’s purchase of the rights.

In 2013, Blackbird Interactive announced a game called Shipbreakers. At first, the game focused on ideas similar to Homeworld but was not directly connected. Gearbox later agreed to rebrand Shipbreakers as Homeworld: Shipbreakers, officially linking it to the Homeworld series. The game is a prequel to the Homeworld series. In December 2015, the game was named Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak and released on January 20, 2016.

On July 19, 2013, Gearbox announced plans to release remastered versions of Homeworld and Homeworld 2 in 2014. In March 2014, the title was changed to Homeworld Remastered Collection. After missing the original release date, the collection was released on February 25, 2015. It includes original versions (without LAN multiplayer) and remastered versions of both games. The remastered versions use the Homeworld 2 engine, have high-resolution graphics, new effects, and support HD, Ultra HD, and 4K resolutions. Multiplayer for both games is now in one central mode. The collection was released on February 25, 2015. Aspyr Media later released the collection for macOS on August 6, 2015.

After planning and support from fans, Gearbox produced Homeworld 3, a sequel to the original series. Development was partly funded through the crowdfunding platform Fig in late 2019. The game was made by Blackbird Interactive and released on May 13, 2024.