Ahhh Homeworld, possibly my favourite game of all time next to Half-Life. It was a very unique RTS when it came out and for some reason remains a very unique RTS even today because to my knowledge, no-one has done anything quite like it since. Homeworld first appeared in September 1999 and spawned two more games, Cataclysm and the sequel Homeworld 2. All three were lauded for their design, storytelling, music and overall production. Homeworld 2 was released in 2003 and since then… nothing. Homeworld has essentially been sat on by the various companies that have owned its IP over the past 10 years. Homeworld 3 is something many space/RTS lovers want but has been nothing but a pipe dream and the franchise looked to be long dead and buried. But now there is hope where once there was none as the now bankrupt THQ starts selling off its various IPs including Homeworld…
THQ is auctioning off 6 lots of IP’s with Lot #2 containing Homeworld and Homeworld 2 to the highest bidder ( I assume Cataclysm would come under the original Homeworld). As a result, there’s a distinct chance someone will grab the IP and actually do something with it for a change. Of course we’re all hoping that EA don’t get their grubby hands on it, but my other concern is that if a sequel is made, expectations are so high that it might be very easy to ruin it. At the very least, this gives the new owners the opportunity to re-release the original games in a digital format and put it on Steam or another outlet which is something that is desperately needed as there are only so many discs in the world. A re-release could help to spark a new interest in the series and help fund the development of a new game.
We should hopefully know the result of the auction in mid-late April, until then we can only wait and hope something good will come out of this. Below is a full list of the IP’s THQ is auctioning:
Lot 1: Red Faction
- Red Faction
- Red Faction Armageddon
- Red Faction 2
- Red Faction: Guerrilla
Lot 2: Homeworld
- Homeworld
- Homeworld 2
Lot 3: MX
- MX Alive
- MX vs ATV Untamed
- MX Superfly featuring Ricky Carmichael
- MX vs. ATV Alive Tournament
- MX Unleashed
- MX vs. ATV Unleashed
- MX vs ATV Reflex
- MX vs. ATV: On The Edge
Lot 4: Darksiders
- Darksiders
- Darksiders 2
Lot 5: Other Owned Software
- All Star Cheer Squad
- Elements of Destruction
- All Star Cheer Squad 2
- Fantastic Pets
- All Star Karate
- Frontlines: Fuel of War
- Baja: Edge of Control
- Full Spectrum Warrior 1
- Full Spectrum Warrior 2: Ten Hammers
- Battle of the Bands
- Beat City
- Juiced
- Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
- Big Beach Sports
- Big Beach Sports 2
- Lock’s Quest: Construction Combat
- Big Family Games
- Neighborhood Games
- Crawler
- Pax Imperia
- de Blob
- de Blob 2
- Stuntman: Ignition
- Summoner
- Summoner 2
- Deadly Creatures
- Deep Six
- Terranium
- Destroy All Humans!
- Destroy All Humans! 2
- Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed
- Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon
- The Outfit
- Titan Quest
- Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
- uDraw
- Dood’s Big Adventure
- World of Zoo
- Drawn to Life
- Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter
Lot 6: Licensed Software
- Costume Quest
- Stacking
- Scripps Spelling Bee (Scripps)
- Daniel X (SueJack)
- Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House
- Deepak Chopra’s Leela (Curious Holdings)
- Fancy Nancy: Tea Party Time! (Harper Collins)
- Supreme Commander
- Supreme Commander Forged Alliance
- Jeopardy
- Jeopardy 2
- The Biggest Loser
- Journey to the Center of the Earth
- Truth or Lies
- Let’s Ride Best of Breed
- Vampire Legends: Power of Three (dtp)
- Marvel Super Hero Squad: Comic Combat
- Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet
- Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet 2
- Wheel of Fortune
- Wheel of Fortune 2
- World of Zoo
- Nancy Drew: The Hidden Staircase
- Worms 2
- Worms Battle Islands
- Worms Open Warfare
- Worms: A Space Oddity
- Worms: Open Warfare 2 (Team 17)
- Nexuiz
- Paws & Claws Marine Rescue
- Paws & Claws Pampered Pets Resort 3D
- PurrPals 2
- Rio
- You Don’t Know Jack (Jellyvision)
- Rocket Riot
- Screwjumper (Frozen Codebase)
Interesting, I was not aware that someone else has the rights to Cataclysm if I am interpreting this correctly. That was a fairly decent game too if not quite as good as the original.
It might be included with Homeworld I suppose, the rights were still Sierra’s back in the day but it was produced by Barking Dog not Relic. Hard to say where that places ownership, depends on agreements made at the time I guess.