'Dune Awakening' (Image: Funcom)
Shai-Hulud! Sandworms are returning to our screens with the release of Dune Awakening, a game set to be released in 2025. If you are a true fan of sand, the desert planet of Arrakis is for you as this game is an open-world MMORPG ready to be explored. Game Studio Funcom has been tapped for the project. They made acclaimed MMORPGs like The Conan series.
If you’re a true lover of Dune here’s the game trailer. Early access to the game is coming in 2025. If you’ve been following the game’s release teasers since it was revealed at Gamescom 2024, your wait is almost over. You’ve read the lore, watched the videos and prepped to participate in Arrakis, now here it comes. Will it be that popular? That is for the gaming community to decide, but I’m still hyped. Frank Herbert’s sci-fi world is another take on Cold War Era issues, so I’m eager to see how Dune: Awakening interprets his work. Who knows? Maybe knowing more of the lore will come in handy. Don’t forget spice is vital, water is scarce and both day and night provide different challenges. Minecraft anyone?
Is there beta-testing? What should I expect?
If you want to join the Beta-testing in early 2025, sign up for it now. The game will be available to Xbox Series Games and PS5, but if you want to beta-test it, you need to play it on PC. The depth and visuals of the game are difficult for older consoles to handle, so if you want to play it, here’s your sign to update.
What exactly is this game advertised as? Good question. Dune Awakening is advertised as a survival MMO where you’ll have to use your skills to live in the desert—riding sandworms anyone? Search for food, water and travel in Planet Sandbox.
The trailer’s emphasis on the phrase “Arrakis is a test, few survive it” tells you exactly what you need to know as a few seconds later a grandfather of the desert, yes a giant sandworm, rises from the sand. Funcom’s work isn’t over yet, but this is promising. Funcom’s interpretation of Arrakis shows you how to survive in this wasteland from crafting to using technology to do the literal dirty work. Don’t go racing off to find Lisan Al-Gaib – he’s not in here as the game takes place in another timeline. You can find references to him in the game though. The last image left in the players’ view is those brilliant blue eyes with the words, “Arrakis is a test. Few survive it, but the humans that do…awaken.”
Gameplay is what?
On Twitter, Creative Director Joe Bylos described the gameplay as “a survival game, first and foremost, where you must search for water, search for shelter, and walk softly on the sand to avoid the sandworms. In addition to this, you’ll be doing it online with thousands of other players.” If you’ve seen the movies or read the books a lot of it makes sense to be applied to the game. This isn’t new ground for Funcom as they adapted another successful franchise into a game. Conan Exiles was very popular after its release, and if the company plays their cards right, this one will become a fan-favorite too. Dune Awakening focuses on PVP, guild-building, exploration and crafting. Conan Exiles had a lot of politics and so will Dune: Awakening.
Gameplay mechanics are invitingly refreshing.
In Dune: Awakening, you’ll be a prisoner fighting for the planet’s resources while making your way through. This promises some serious PVP action. As for the mechanics in an interview with PC Gamer, Bylos explained, “We’re very focused on a few tight core survival mechanics. Like shelter: sandstorm shelter,” he said. “Sandworms themselves are a giant threat in the world. If you walk on sand, they will come. If you create vibrations, they will come. So you have to think about how you approach traversal in the game world. And obviously, water. Those are our three key [systems].”
If you’ve ever grown up or been in desert areas you’d know about dehydration and exposure risks. But here in Arrakis, you have more than the sandworms to contend with. Sandstorms and quicksand are something to look out for and if you walk wrongly, those Fremen-eating sandworms will make a meal out of you. Bylos admitted this is there to keep the players actively working through solutions and paying attention in the game. He wants the players to be “continually thinking.”
Developers want to keep players active in the game
Taking that all into account, Bylos said, “If I’m going across the open sand, I have to think about the sandworms. If there’s a sandstorm coming, I have to know where there’s shelter nearby. If I haven’t built something, I need to know where I can hide where I can get away from the sandstorms. So we’re trying to create this tension.” That tension can keep a player actively participating in the game. In the mechanic’s wheelhouse, the player will also have to account for crafting and spice to make items and provide boosts or new abilities.
If you’re truly into learning more about the game check out the Dune: Awakening Twitter account where they’re posting content known as Shigawire Reels, which share lore and the game’s storyline. It’s uncertain if these are gameplay footage or not, but here are a few for viewing.
- Survival on Arrakis
- Construction and transports
- Daytime and nighttime cycles
- Trading and resource system
- Safety in groups
- Desert Mouse File
It’s almost go time, Sleepers.
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