Dune: Awakening
| Dune: Awakening | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Funcom[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Funcom |
| Director(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | Nils Ryborg |
| Composer(s) | Knut Avenstroup Haugen |
| Series | Dune |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Survival |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Dune: Awakening is an upcoming survival multiplayer game on a massive scale developed and published by Funcom. The game is set to be released for Windows PC on June 10, 2025. Players that purchase the Deluxe or Ultimate Edition can play the game on June 5, five days ahead of full release. Versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S are also planned for a later date.
Story
[edit]Set in an alternate timeline in which Paul Atreides was never born, Arrakis is caught in a civil war between House Atreides and House Harkonnen, while the Fremen have mysteriously vanished.[1] The player character assumes control of an undercover agent working for the Bene Gesserit who must find the Fremen and "awake the Sleeper".[2]
Gameplay
[edit]Dune: Awakening is a survival game. At the beginning of the game, the player will create their own playable avatar, customizing their appearance and selecting their background. They can also choose a mentor, who will determine the player's starting ability. For instance, a Bene Gesserit mentor will teach the player character to use "the Voice" to taunt their opponents.[1] Players must manage their character's thirst level and maintain their stillsuits.[3] Arakis is filled with environmental dangers, such as frequent sandstorms and quicksand. The player character may suffer from a heat stroke if they explore during day time, and encounter hostile Sardaukar patrols at night.[4] Players need to scavenge for resources, which can then be used to craft new items and build a shelter, though players will also have to pay tax to the Emperor should they decide to construct an outpost. Players must compete against each other to harvest and transport spice, a psychedelic drug that is seen as the most essential and valuable commodity in the Dune universe. Sandworms are a constant threat, and players must avoid making loud sounds while moving to avoid drawing their attention.[5][6] While players can use technology such as thumpers to attract a sandworm and use it to their advantage, they cannot be summoned at will.[7] While players normally will not lose any of their progress when they are defeated, every item and vehicle devoured by a sandworm will be lost forever.[8] As players progress, they will unlock new skills, weapons, and gadgets used for combat and traversal.[8] They will also become addicted to spice, unlocking spice-related powers.[9]
Dune: Awakening is also a multiplayer game on a massive scale. Funcom added that the game is divided into four phases: Survive, Protect, Expand and Control, and sees the player character advancing from an everyman to the leader of a guild.[10] After completing the starting area, players can access the Overland, where they can pilot an ornithopter from a top-down perspective to reach other locations in a game.[11] Players can also join either House Atreides and House Harkonnen, and access faction-specific quests and talk to other non-playable characters. Players can also access the Deep Deserts, a primarily player-versus-player environment that can accommodate "hundreds" of players. This location is ravaged by weekly Coriolis storm, meaning that new locations of interest and modifications to the map will show up every week following the game's launch.[12] Players may also explore underground ecology labs, the game's dungeons, alone or with other players.[8] Eventually, players will reach the endgame, in which guilds can use their influence at the Landsraat to make choices that can affect the state of the game's world.[13]
Development
[edit]Dune: Awakening is currently being developed by Funcom, the developer behind Conan Exiles. German-based studio NUKKLEAR served as the game's co-developer and assisted the studio in creating Awakening's vehicular gameplay.[14] In February 2019, Funcom announced that it had signed a partnership with Legendary Entertainment to create three games based on the Dune franchise in six years, with one of which being an open-world multiplayer game.[15] Dune: Awakening was officially announced in August 2022,[16] and is set to be released for Windows PC on June 10, 2025.[17] Players that purchase the Deluxe or Ultimate Edition can play the game on June 5, five days ahead of full release. Funcom also planned to release the game for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S.[18]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Additional development by NUKKLEAR
References
[edit]- ^ a b Welsh, Oli (June 21, 2024). "Dune: Awakening's alternate history setup sounds fascinating". Polygon. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Wolens, Joshua (February 20, 2025). "Survival MMO Dune: Awakening launches in May and I am way more excited about it than I thought I'd be". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Koselke, Anna (January 30, 2025). "Dune: Awakening is so much more than a survival game or an MMO - it's a unique sci-fi experience shaped by Frank Herbert's 60-year-old lore and all that came after it". GamesRadar. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Evans-Thirwell, Edwin (March 27, 2024). "Sandworms are the spice in Dune: Awakening's otherwise quite familiar survival simming". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Webster, Andrew (May 27, 2024). "Dune: Awakening is going to turn me into a blood-drinking, spice-addicted survivalist". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Livingston, Christopher (March 27, 2024). "Survival MMO Dune: Awakening wants to 'pull people away from competing and fighting over bases' and have them battle over spice instead". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Bolding, Jonathan (February 21, 2025). "Dune: Awakening's sandworms will be their own masters: 'You won't be able to summon them at will'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ a b c Hornshaw, Phil (June 20, 2024). "We Got A Look At Dune: Awakening's Massive Desert Maps And MMO Elements". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Purchese, Robert (January 30, 2025). "Dune: Awakening proves MMOs can still be interesting and try new things". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Reyes, Jess (June 12, 2023). "The new Dune MMO pushes players through four phases of survival". GamesRadar. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Livingston, Christopher (June 21, 2024). "In Dune: Awakening you 'physically fly' your ornithopter between servers on an overland map filled with 'hundreds of other players'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Hoglund, Michael (June 21, 2024). "A single Dune: Awakening map will be almost ten times the size of Conan Exiles, where you can "meet hundreds of players"". Windows Central. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Weber, Rachel (January 31, 2025). "Dune: Awakening: The Final Preview". IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Koch, Cameron (December 2, 2021). "Dune Survival Game Will Feature Vehicular Gameplay, Pants-Pooping Status Unclear". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (February 27, 2019). "Funcom is making an 'open world multiplayer' Dune game". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
- ^ Skrebels, Joe (August 24, 2022). "Dune: Awakening Is a New Open World Survival MMO - Gamescom Opening Night Live". IGN. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
- ^ Romano, Sal (April 15, 2025). "Dune: Awakening for PC delayed to June 10". Gematsu. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (February 20, 2025). "Dune: Awakening arrives May 20, but you can start making your character now". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
