Awakening of the dunes is an upcoming survival MMO from the creators of Conan: exiles. Its goal is to adapt the books and movies, giving players the challenge of surviving on Arrakis, the most dangerous planet in the Universe.
In Awakening of the dunes, you will wake up as The Sleeper, before being thrown into the desert with little more than a knife to your name. From there you can gather, create and build your own guild, fending off giant sandworms and other players while trying to control the flow of spices on the planet's surface. It's certainly shaping up to be one of the most exciting upcoming games on the horizon, and may well end up taking a place on lists of the best MMO games on the internet when it releases.
This is what we know about Awakening of the dunes so far, including a look at the story and setting, gameplay, latest trailers, news, and everything we know at the moment. As more details are revealed, this page will be updated.
Dune Awakening: Get to the point
- What is it? An MMO set in the world of Dune
- When can I play it? to confirm
- What can I play it on? PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
- Who does it? funcom
Dune Awakening Trailers
The last trailer we have for Awakening of the dunes was revealed on March 5, 2024, along with a full developer drop-in presentation. Watch the trailer for 'Survive Arrakis' below:
We have included some more Awakening of the dunes progress throughout this article, but if you're hungry for more, you should visit Funcom's official YouTube channel. The most interesting ones to look out for are Shigawire Reels, a series of short videos that explain different aspects of the story.
Dune Awakening story and setting
Awakening of the dunes is an MMO set in the world of Frank Herbert Dune series. It takes place on the desert planet of Arrakis, where a royal family called House Atreides has moved in to take control. After a swift betrayal, the political landscape of Arrakis was thrown into chaos, with multiple factions warring for control of the planet's primary resource, spice. Spice grants extrasensory abilities in the world of Dune, allowing pilots to go on long-duration space expeditions and more. It is only found on Arrakis, so it has been a source of conflict for millennia.
You play as The Sleeper wakes up and is forced out into the brutal desert environment. As you progress, you will create your own Minor House and can then align yourself with one of the major powers fighting for control of the region. It has been revealed that you will meet characters from the books and movies during The awakening of the dunes history, although for now we do not know the details.
Dune Awakening Gameplay
We've now seen quite a bit of Dune Awakening gameplay, thanks to the recent Dune Awakening: Direct event (YouTube links).
when you start Awakening of the dunes, you are thrown into the desert, with nothing but a knife at your disposal. Enemy camps can be looted to slowly collect materials that will help you survive, while building a variety of technology, weaponry and survival equipment. Arrakis is described as “the most dangerous planet in the Universe”, and it's clear that Dune Awakening aims to focus on survival mechanics to emphasize this.
Water is more valuable than gold on Arrakis and you will need to constantly ensure you have enough to not only survive but thrive. Once you start building your guild, you'll need water for industrial purposes, all with the end goal of capturing and controlling bags of Spice.
Environmental hazards are abundant in Awakening of the dunes, with enormous sand storms constantly ravaging the planet's surface. It's best to avoid them at first, but once you have a fleet of vehicles and more resources, you can use storms to your advantage. Ground vehicles include sand bikes and tanks, and then there are air vehicles. Ornithopters can be used to travel long distances and avoid giant sandworms that can ambush you on the ground.
Combat is known as “Combine Weapons” and consists of melee (swords and knives), ranged (guns), vehicular (ground and air vehicles), and skills (sorcery). All of these are used together and the player can decide what to focus on. Dune Awakening is primarily a PvE game, with multiple players on the same server coexisting and looting separately. There is also a PvP aspect, where players can attack each other and fight for resources like Spice.
Latest news on Dune Awakening
First Dune Awakening: Direct shows off the game's approach to world-building
Funcom has released the first Dune Awakening: Direct, showcasing new gameplay and a look at how the games have adapted stories from Frank Herbert's novels. Check out the world building showcase here (links to YouTube).
You can now register for the next Dune Awakening beta
Funcom has announced that players can now register to access the Dune Awakening beta. Head to the game's main site and enter your email to be part of future trials. Currently, we don't have a date for the beta release, but stay tuned as it will likely be this year at some point.
