Funcom requested us to "let them cook," and occurring final evening's Dune: Awakening showcase, the builders did. With simply a few days to go earlier than early entry gamers get their "head start," Funcom put on a livestream displaying off Dune: Awakening's mid-to-endgame, and a huge tour of the Hagga Basin "to emphasize the size and variety players can expect," together with the "lush O’odham, the forbidding Hagga Rift, the tall spires and imposing rock formations of Jabal Eifrit, to name just a few."
Inspired by Denis Villeneuve and Legendary Entertainment’s blockbuster movies, Dune: Awakening lets gamers discover Arrakis in an open-world game for the primary time ever. Up till now, even beta gamers have solely seen round 25% of Hagga Basin, so the stream showcased "these huge and diverse landscapes" in all their glory.
"Before even considering the vast dunes and dangers of the Deep Desert, players will experience a full-scale survival game," Funcom teased.
"They will rise through the ranks of the Atreides or Harkonnen; build powerful strongholds; brave Imperial Testing Stations; craft advanced schematics; explore and harvest in a variety of vehicles, and much, much more." Furthermore, the "Landsraad feature allows anyone to contribute in the effort to impact their entire faction, whether they prefer PvE or PvP."
Dune: Awakening is an open-world survival MMO set on essentially the most harmful planet within the universe. You'll be taught to survive the desert by studying the methods of the Fremen, and broaden your potential by fight, spice, building, and commerce. It's set to release on June 10, 2025, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S (*5*). Players with an "early start," nonetheless, get to play 5 days early from June 5.
"As a longtime fan of Dune, it also just feels so good to explore and learn more about a world that I’m quite fond of, and Funcom has clearly put a ton of effort into worldbuilding and lore, even despite taking quite a bit of creative liberty by placing Awakening within a parallel reality and canon than the books/movies," we wrote in IGN's Dune: Awakening closed beta impressions preview.
"There are little details that have a massive impact on gameplay. I won’t go into spoilers, but this kind of attention to detail touches just about every aspect of the world, including the factions and characters you meet along the way, which should be a treat for any fan of the setting."
For more, try particulars on the MMO's business model and post-launch plans.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, in addition to a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years expertise working with some of the world's greatest gaming websites and publications. She's additionally a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.