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Sci-fi RTS Ancient Space is warming up its warp drive for a September 23rd launch

Ancient Space

CreativeForge Games and Paradox’s Ancient Space, a sci-fi RTS that – with its 3D movement – is immediately evocative of Homeworld was only announced a fortnight ago, but it launches this month. 

Come September 23rd, fleet commanders will be able to duke it out in space against sci-fi threats. It all takes place in the Black Zone, where space is given texture and terrain with gargantuan floating chunks of rock and massive clouds of gas.

CreativeForge wants to make players feel like they are controlling a professional fleet, and have toned down the typical space opera melodramma in favour of “The first thing we said was that Ancient Space was a NASA mission and not something like Star Wars,” says Paradox Interactive executive producer Joe Fricano.

Voice actors – many of whom are veteran sci-fi actors – were given NASA transmissions to familiarise themselves with how the organisation conducted itself.

Players will get control over four different size classes of ships, as well as a mobile HQ with an AI voiced by Dwight Schultz, who famously played The A-Team’s Howling Mad Murdoch and Star Trek’s Lieutenant Barclay. This flagship can be customised with special modules, which can change its role in combat, from support to offensive.

While there’s a store page on Steam, it’s not available for purchase there at the moment. On Paradox’s own store, it’s accepting pre-orders and you’ll be emailed a Steam key. It’ll only set you back £14.99.