| Dune: Awakening | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | DLC & Pre-Order | Review |
Dune: Awakening takes players to Arrakis in an open-world survival MMO. Read on for the latest news and updates about the game!
← Return to Dune: Awakening main article
Dune: Awakening News
2025
September 13
⚫︎ Dune: Awakening's first post-launch DLC Lost Harvest gets negative reactions following a lackluster Dune Man four-piece building "set", citing that a four pieces of building parts hardly qualifies as a set when other games release to upwards of 20 or up to 60 pieces of building content as the standard, as well as other issues with its content. Funcom apologizes for the issue and promises that at least 15 more pieces will be added to the DLC sometime in late September or early October.
September 4
⚫︎ Funcom has announced that Dune: Awakening will be free to play on Steam starting September 11. Unlike the game’s earlier limited trial. Alongside the trial, the game will also receive its first discount since launch, giving players an opportunity to purchase Dune: Awakening at a reduced price.
August 20
⚫︎ A wave of change is coming to Arrakis as the free Chapter 2 main story update and the paid The Lost Harvest DLC will be launched on September 10th.
August 18
⚫︎ A roadmap was released on the game's official website detailing the planned changes to come up until June of 2026. Notably, Chapter 2 of the main story as well as the Lost Harvest DLC is set to arrive sometime in September 2025, with more details to follow during the Gamescom proper.
July 31
⚫︎ Funcom is testing a fix for the long-standing issue of ornithopter griefing as part of the quality-of-life improvements included in the upcoming Version 1.1.20 patch, set to launch this August.
July 27
⚫︎ Steam Family Sharing for Dune: Awakening is temporarily disabled, potentially until 2026. Developer Funcom addresses the feature being used to cheat, and has proposed this solution moving forward in an effort to curb the exploitation. The types of cheating were not specified, but players speculate that alt accounts have been used to farm resources and loot for the main account.
July 24
⚫︎ In the latest update, the late-game area Deep Desert will have more rock island areas for building bases, addressing the issue of land scarcity. Although the patch is now live, the changes will only be effective starting July 29th after the ongoing Coriolis Storm apex.
July 10
⚫︎ The premature release of a certain patch has effectively deleted players' bases and progress in the Deep Desert, causing outrage among the playerbase. With that said, Funcom has apologised for the oversight and have pledged to restore the missing items to the best of their ability, and all affected items, vehicles, and materials will return by the end of this week.
July 6
⚫︎ Following the subsequent patches that were meant to minimize griefing in the Deep Desert PVP area, griefers have instead resorted to relocate to the PVE area, Hagga Basin, to unleash more of their wicked chaos.
June 30
⚫︎ Even with the previously mentioned patch in place that disabled vehicle ramming and damage to other players, griefers are still on the rise as they use ornithopters to block other players from harvesting spice and flour sand, making them easy pray for the incoming sandworms. There's no news as to what Funcom will be doing to deal with this as of writing.
June 18
⚫︎ A new Dune: Awakening patch has disabled vehicle ramming as a form of PvP damage, ending a frustrating tactic where players in ornithopters would repeatedly knock others into instant death. This exploit had become common in the Deep Desert zone, particularly targeting solo players on foot. The change, confirmed by creative director Joel Bylos on Reddit, has been positively received by the community. However, players are still calling for more immersive vehicle mechanics, such as damage when crashing into terrain.
June 17
⚫︎ Funcom is actively addressing growing concerns about PvP balance in Dune: Awakening, particularly issues tied to the game’s deep desert endgame. As players dive deeper into the survival MMO, complaints have emerged around how PvP heavily favors ornithopter-based combat, rendering player-built abilities and ground combat nearly irrelevant. In response, Funcom’s creative director Joel Bylos confirmed the studio is "working on a bunch of changes/fixes" and asked players for patience. While exact adjustments haven’t been detailed yet, the response indicates that the developers are aware of the concerns and are working on updates to address PvP balance post-launch.
June 16
⚫︎ Dune: Awakening has had a strong start, quickly climbing Steam’s charts, but not all players are thrilled with its late-game systems. While many enjoy the survival MMO’s core content, frustrations have emerged around PvP mechanics and the Landsraad, its unique faction-based endgame system. The Landsraad, which allows players to influence server-wide decisions by completing goals for their chosen house, has been criticized for favoring large groups. PvP has also drawn complaints, particularly regarding ornithopter attacks. Players have found that crashing these flying vehicles into others can instantly kill them with minimal risk to the pilot. Since deaths in PvP zones result in the loss of resources and currency, this has become a frustrating exploit. Developer Funcom is aware of the issue, and Chief Creative Officer Joel Bylos has confirmed that a fix is in the works.
June 15
⚫︎ Dune: Awakening has achieved an impressive milestone following its full release on June 10, setting a new all-time concurrent player peak of over 175,000 users on Steam. This surge came shortly after its public launch, easily surpassing the early access peak from the five-day head start granted to Deluxe and Ultimate edition buyers, which had already reached 113,000 players.
June 3
⚫︎ Dune: Awakening will support private servers at launch, letting players customize limited settings. Private servers will allow toggling PvP zones, taxes, and sandstorms. Each private server supports 40+ players and belongs to a larger shared "World" of other private servers, enabling interaction in communal zones like social hubs and the Deep Desert. However, private and official server players won’t mix, and character transfers or admin control panels aren’t supported.
May 30
⚫︎ In Dune: Awakening, 25 lesser Houses vote weekly to support either House Atreides or Harkonnen. Players sway these votes through PvP and PvE missions. The winning faction gains control of all servers for a week and gets to enact a powerful decree—buffs like faster crafting, stronger weapons, or full loot PvP. Only one decree can be active at a time, but they offer major advantages. The devs promise balance systems and hint at a third faction joining later.
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.
