Story

Discover the epic narrative of Homeworld 2, continuing the Hiigaran struggle against the Vaygr and the ancient powers they wield. Unravel the truth behind the exile.

In the original Homeworld, the inhabitants of a forsaken planet discovered an ancient tablet revealing their true origins. This led them on a perilous voyage to their ancestral home, Hiigara. After building a massive Mothership and gathering thousands of colonists, they embarked with high hopes, unaware of the galaxy-spanning dangers ahead. Following apocalyptic battles and grievous losses, they finally reached Hiigara and reclaimed their birthright.

Homeworld 2 continues the epic struggle of the Hiigarans and their leader Karan S'jet. Though many believed their hardships would end upon returning to Hiigara, fate had other plans for the Exiles. The Hiigarans now face a new and bitter enemy: a renegade clan from the eastern fringes of the galaxy, wielding the power of the ancients. Homeworld 2 chronicles the valiant journey of the Mothership and its crew into the oldest regions of the galaxy to confront this new foe and uncover the truth behind their exile.

The story layout can be seen as a progression: Homeworld 1 is about escaping captors, Homeworld: Cataclysm is a small expansion where a disease is unintentionally brought to life, and the fleet must fight to protect the universe from this massive threat. Homeworld 2 is set many years later, with some fleets having broken off to form their own colonies. The two main colonies, Hiigaran and Vaygr, are fiercely fighting each other: the Vaygr aim to seize Hiigara, while the Hiigarans strive to eliminate the Vaygr.

Homeworld was not originally intended to have a sequel; the first story would have been sufficient for the average gamer. However, the widespread interest in Homeworld prompted Sierra to commission a sequel. The original designers were brought back and conceived the idea of a futuristic fleet with a heavily armed and mobile mothership (due to popular demand) and a bio-mechanical virus that the fleet must combat. This might have been enough, but Sierra pushed further, deciding to produce a second sequel. This sequel was to reintroduce the original interface (Homeworld Cataclysm's interface was not well-received) and accommodate older ships. This formed the basis for Homeworld 2.

The relations between game ships have changed significantly over 200 years. Homeworld 2 shows the return of some older ships and the original interface. Sierra conducted a poll to determine public preference for interface, ship design, and gameplay, with Homeworld 1 being the favored choice. Ship designs have also evolved considerably. For example, the Multi Beam Frigate in Homeworld 1 was a non-buildable, high-power frigate with four beams, while Homeworld Cataclysm featured a buildable, six-pulsar frigate. The Homeworld 1 Scout was faster and more combat-capable, whereas Homeworld 2's scout consisted of three weak units capable of EMP and sensor pinging. Homeworld Cataclysm's modules did not function independently and were not targetable, a stark contrast to Homeworld 2 where they were the opposite.

Beyond the development by the same entity, other relations between the games are minimal. Everything has changed in the intervening years. Homeworld 1 set the pace for space-based RTS games, Homeworld: Cataclysm fell short of that standard, and Homeworld 2 surpassed it entirely.