All Homeworld 3 pre-order bonuses: Is pre-ordering Homeworld 3 worth it?

Homeworld 3 is still a few months away from release, but you can pre-order Blackbird Interactive’s real-time strategy game right now. Is it worth doing so? That depends on whether the Homeworld 3 pre-order bonuses are enticing enough for you.

Homeworld 3 was among the upcoming PC game releases that received the most attention during the Nov. 30 PC Gaming Show. Developer Blackbird unveiled new gameplay details, announced Homeworld 3’s final release date, and launched the game’s pre-order campaign.

The latter is inherently tied to the various editions Homeworld 3 comes in. There are four separate packages, each one containing everything the previous one does, and adding perks on top of that.

Homeworld 3 all editions and prices

• Standard edition – The Homeworld 3 Standard edition contains only the base game and is priced at $59.99.
• Deluxe edition – The Homeworld 3 Deluxe edition comes with the base game and a year one pass, at $79.99.
• Fleet Command edition – The Homeworld 3 Fleet Command edition comes with three add-ons over the Deluxe edition—a digital copy of the game’s official soundtrack, three days of early access, and cosmetic in-game items. The price is $89.99.
• Collector’s edition – The Homeworld 3’s Collector’s edition includes everything from the Fleet Command edition, plus a physical Khar-Kushan set. The physical goodies bump up the price to $174.99.

What are Homeworld 3’s pre-order bonuses?

The only guaranteed additional bonus you get for pre-ordering Homeworld 3 is a Kushan Carrier War Games skin. You can add three days of early access to the list of bonuses by pre-ordering the Fleet Command or the Collector’s edition. You won’t get anything besides the one skin if you pre-order the two lower tier editions.

Is the Homeworld 3 pre-order worth it?

Unless you really want to play the game a bit earlier and plan on buying one of the expensive editions anyway, pre-ordering Homeworld 3 is not worth it. The one skin you receive for doing so doesn’t seem like enough of an incentive to give your money in advance with zero certainty as to the quality of the final release. That’s no knock against Blackbird, but with so many poor launches in 2023, earning PC gamers’ trust would need more investment than a single skin.

One advantage Blackbird and publisher Gearbox are giving to gamers is a long pre-order period. Homeworld 3’s official release date is March 8, 2024, so you have plenty of time to decide if you want to pull the trigger early or employ a wait and see strategy.