Shipbreakers is now a Homeworld game, funded by Gearbox

Hardware: Shipbreakers isn't the spiritual sequel to Homerworld anymore; Gearbox acquired the rights to the Homeworld franchise and reached an agreement with Blackbird Interactive – which includes several Relic Entertainment staffers in the team –  to turn Shipbreakers into a true Homeworld sequel.

To make this completely official, Hardware: Shipbreakers is being renamed Homeworld: Shipbreakers and the studio is getting financial backing from Gearbox, which allows them to hire more staff. There's no updates on the original free-to-play model for the game, so we'll have to wait and see.

Gearbox still plans to launch remakes for the two previous Homeworld games, so there will be plenty of sci-fi strategy for fans of the classic series.