| Dune: Awakening | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Dune: Awakening News
2025
May 8
⚫︎ Dune: Awakening just held its open beta weekend, and fans were treated to the first 20-25 hours of the game along with other features. During their Global LAN Party livestream, players discovered an exploit to stun their opponents in PvP forever.
In the livestream, developers from Funcom witnessed the stunlock exploit and immediately addressed the bug. Dune: Awakening World Director Jeff Gagné and Lead Producer Ole Andreas Haley promised to fix this issue before the game’s official release.
May 8
⚫︎ Funcom has reassured players that it is taking precautions to prevent server issues at the launch of Dune: Awakening, using its experience from previous MMO launches. The studio will deploy thousands of servers, known as Hagga Basins, each capable of supporting 40 concurrent players but accommodating several hundred accounts due to natural player fluctuation. If a Hagga Basin nears capacity, a server queue will ensure that players can join without constantly retrying. Funcom’s team is prepared to add more servers as needed, maintaining a stable experience across global regions.
April 28
⚫︎ Dune: Awakening is ramping up towards its launch with an upcoming large-scale beta weekend. Funcom announced on their official website that they will be having a weekend dedicated to Dune: Awakening’s global beta test. They also revealed a new trailer featuring some of the game’s cinematic cutscenes and story snippets. Players have a chance to gain access to the Beta weekend by wishlisting and requesting access to the game via Dune: Awakening’s Steam page, or receiving Beta codes during the game’s global broadcast.
April 25
⚫︎ Funcom has announced the third official Dune: Awakening livestream, scheduled for April 29 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, which will air on the game's YouTube and Twitch channels. The stream will give fans a deeper look at the upcoming survival MMO’s base-building mechanics, as well as crafting, resource gathering, story elements, and systems like The Exchange, Landsraad, and Blueprints. An Ultimate Edition giveaway will also be held during the event, and viewers can participate in a live Q&A session at the end.
April 16
⚫︎ Dune: Awakening has been postponed to June 10, 2025, with developer Funcom citing the need to make further improvements on the game and to process more of the feedback from the beta testers.
March 27
⚫︎ Dune Awakening's system requirements make it accessible for older gaming PCs, but high-end hardware is needed for 4K. The minimum specs include an Nvidia GTX 1060, AMD Radeon 5600 XT, or Intel Arc A380, paired with an Intel i5-7400 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200. While 16GB of RAM is required, the game will only run at 1080p and 30fps at this level. For better performance, the recommended specs call for an RTX 3070 or RX 6700 XT.
March 26
⚫︎ Dune: Awakening will launch in May with no early access phase or monthly subscription, setting it apart from typical survival MMOs. Creative Director Joel Bylos confirmed the game will receive free updates, adding content and quality-of-life improvements over time.
March 14
⚫︎ A new Dune: Awakening trailer gives a closer look at how players will carve out their place on Arrakis, from setting up bases to uncovering hidden resources. The footage showcases key survival elements, including crafting vehicles, scanning for materials, and encountering points of interest like downed spacecraft that hold valuable loot. Traversal plays a major role, with tools like a grappling hook and suspensor belt allowing for vertical exploration. The Coriolis Storms was also revealed as massive sandstorms that reshape the PvP deep deserts on a weekly basis, altering the terrain and revealing fresh opportunities for daring players willing to brave the chaos.
With a focus on dynamic exploration and a world that constantly evolves, Dune: Awakening is shaping up to be an ambitious take on the survival MMO genre.
February 20
⚫︎ Funcom has announced that Dune: Awakening will launch on PC via Steam on May 20 for $49.99, with pre-orders opening soon. Early buyers will receive an exclusive in-game decoration, the ‘Terrarium of Muad’Dib.’ While console versions are planned for a later release, PC players can already access a free character creator and benchmark tool on Steam to customize their avatar and test system performance ahead of launch.
January 7
⚫︎ Dune: Awakening is set to deliver a groundbreaking experience with its integration of NVIDIA DLSS 4 technology and next-gen Razer Chroma and Haptics. Announced at CES 2025, the game will use NVIDIA’s Multi Frame Generation to enhance performance and visual quality, bringing the harsh beauty of Arrakis to life with stunning detail. Additionally, Razer’s haptic devices and synced lighting will immerse players in the world of Arrakis, allowing them to feel sandworm vibrations, sandstorm winds, and combat intensity in real-time.
2024
November 15
⚫︎ In a developer update last November, the Q&A section for Dune: Awakening provided new insights into gameplay mechanics. Shields, using Holtzman tech, protect against fast projectiles but are vulnerable to slow melee strikes, poison, and fire, and their vibrations can attract sandworms. Crafting shields requires rare parts found in specific locations like Imperial Testing Stations. While the game primarily features third-person gameplay, certain tools like binoculars and scopes offer first-person perspectives.
Vehicles, which can be crafted or found, have customizable access permissions and can be safely stored using a vehicle backup tool. Though sandworm riding won’t be available at launch, developers aim to implement it in a meaningful way later. Players will level up by gaining experience through exploration and completing contracts, unlocking abilities, crafting recipes, and skills like those taught by Wandering Masters, including Bene Gesserit techniques.
August 20
⚫︎ At Gamescom, a five-minute gameplay showcase for the open-world survival MMO Dune: Awakening offered a closer look at the unforgiving world of Arrakis. Players must adapt to the desert planet by mastering Fremen survival skills and engaging in combat, spice harvesting, construction, and trade. With escalating guild conflicts and battles for spice control, the game emphasizes player-driven choices that shape their destiny.
March 5
⚫︎ In March 2024, Funcom unveiled new details about their upcoming survival MMO, Dune: Awakening, set in the harsh desert world of Arrakis. Based on Frank Herbert’s Dune and Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation, the game’s first-ever Dune: Awakening Direct showcased in-game footage and highlighted key gameplay features, all powered by Unreal Engine 5. The presentation built excitement for the game, which was originally announced in 2022, while capitalizing on the buzz surrounding the release of Dune: Part Two.
