New Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak Trailer Teases the Story and Ships

With the surprise Homeworld prequel now less than two weeks away, Gearbox has released a new trailer for Deserts of Kharak.

The video briefly sets up the story of Kharak, which involves Rachel S'jet leading a convoy to investigate an anomaly in the desert with the hopes of saving the dying planet.

Being a RTS game, this naturally leads to all sorts of battles with a variety of ships and vehicles, a number of which are shown in the trailer. Unlike the previous Homeworld games, this is a ground-based RTS; while there are flying ships, the game is largely played on and around the surface of the planet, as opposed to the larger confines of outer space.

Deserts of Kharak developer Blackbird Interactive counts among its staff veterans of Relic Games, developer of the Company of Heroes series and the original Homeworld titles. (Gearbox is the publisher, having acquired the rights to the series from THQ.)

It's due out on January 20 for $50, with Steam preorders including a free copy of the excellent Homeworld Remastered Collection. Those who already own the Collection get a 20 percent discount, bringing the price down to $40.