Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak isn’t just a great game, it’s a gorgeous one to boot. Those carriers, those tanks...but the best unit of all is probably your Baserunner, which has been recreated here perfectly by a fan.

In 2007, Rob Cunningham (of Homeworld fame) formed a brand new studio called Blackbird Interactive. By 2009, work had begun on an ambitious new strategy game strongly inspired by Homeworld’s art design and setting. In 2013, everyone working there was laid off.

Most Fine Art posts on Kotaku tend to show stuff like environment art and character design because they’re the best fit for a website. Sadly, this often ignores a lot of the great work done in other areas of games development that are just as important in determining how pretty a video game looks.

“It’s Homeworld, but with sand” was my first thought when I saw Deserts of Kharak, a brand new prequel set in the same universe as Relic’s classic space strategy games. After actually playing it, that’s...about the gist of it. Homeworld, but with sand.

Well, this is a surprise. Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak—a game we heard nothing about for years until it broke cover in October—is coming out soon. Very soon.