14 DAY TRIAL // The intellectual property rights for Homeworld were purchased earlier this year by Gearbox Software, after publisher THQ went out of business.
The company has posted a poll directed at fans of the Homeworld franchise, intended to help the development of further Gearbox efforts in the right direction.
The survey asks about preferred platforms and even hints at a possible collector's edition re-release of the original titles, asking participants what kind of content they would want to receive, whether they would be interested in a Homeworld artbook and how much would they be willing to pay for the package.
The contents of the online survey detail the HD re-release of both Homeworld and Homeworld 2, including high-resolution textures and 3D model upgrades, new post-processing effects, recreated animated cutscenes and a remastered soundtrack.
The new HD versions could also benefit from integration with Valve's Steamworks feature, as well as Steam Achievements and support for user-created mods.
Gearbox was the top bidder for the Homeworld franchise at THQ's liquidation auction, following the company's bankruptcy last winter, paying the hefty sum of $1.3 / €1 million for the series, stating their intent to preserve the games and make them accessible on today's leading digital distribution platforms.
The Homeworld name was then given to the in-development title Hardware: Shipbreakers, a spiritual successor of the series benefiting from the participation of some of the founding members of Relic Entertainment, its original creator.
The agreement between the Gearbox Software and Blackbird Interactive is meant to offer the latter studio the necessary production tools and financial aid needed to release another Homeworld title worthy of its predecessors.
Homeworld series' fans wanting to participate in the Gearbox Homeworld survey will be pleased to find it still open.