"Dune: Awakening - Latest Updates Revealed"

Dune: Awakening News

2025

May 8

⚫︎ The open beta weekend for Dune: Awakening provided fans with an exciting first look at the game, featuring the initial 20-25 hours of gameplay and additional features. During the Global LAN Party livestream, an exploit allowing players to stun opponents indefinitely in PvP was discovered. Funcom's developers, including World Director Jeff Gagné and Lead Producer Ole Andreas Haley, swiftly identified the issue and committed to resolving it before the game's official release.

May 8

⚫︎ Funcom is taking proactive steps to ensure a smooth launch for Dune: Awakening, drawing on its experience with previous MMO launches. The studio plans to deploy thousands of servers, dubbed Hagga Basins, each designed to support 40 concurrent players while accommodating hundreds of accounts due to player fluctuation. A server queue system will manage player entry when a Hagga Basin nears capacity, and additional servers will be added as needed to maintain a stable global experience.

April 28

⚫︎ Dune: Awakening is gearing up for its launch with a large-scale beta weekend. Funcom announced on their official website that a dedicated global beta test weekend is approaching, accompanied by a new trailer showcasing cinematic cutscenes and story snippets. Players can secure access to the Beta by wishlisting and requesting entry on the game’s Steam page, or by obtaining Beta codes during the global broadcast.

April 25

⚫︎ Funcom has scheduled the third official livestream for Dune: Awakening on April 29 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, to be broadcast on the game's YouTube and Twitch channels. This stream will delve deeper into the game's base-building mechanics, crafting, resource gathering, story elements, and systems such as The Exchange, Landsraad, and Blueprints. An Ultimate Edition giveaway and a live Q&A session will also be part of the event.

April 16

⚫︎ The release of Dune: Awakening has been delayed to June 10, 2025. Funcom explained that the additional time is needed to refine the game and incorporate more feedback from beta testers.

March 27

⚫︎ Dune: Awakening aims to be accessible to players with older gaming PCs, though higher-end hardware is required for 4K gaming. The minimum system requirements include an Nvidia GTX 1060, AMD Radeon 5600 XT, or Intel Arc A380, coupled with an Intel i5-7400 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 processor. With 16GB of RAM, the game will run at 1080p and 30fps. For better performance, the recommended specs include an RTX 3070 or RX 6700 XT.

March 26

⚫︎ Dune: Awakening will launch in May without an early access phase or monthly subscription, distinguishing it from typical survival MMOs. Creative Director Joel Bylos confirmed that the game will receive free updates to enhance content and improve quality of life over time.

March 14

⚫︎ A new trailer for Dune: Awakening offers a detailed view of how players will establish their presence on Arrakis, from base-building to resource discovery. The trailer highlights survival elements such as vehicle crafting, material scanning, and exploration of points of interest like crashed spacecraft. Traversal is emphasized, with tools like grappling hooks and suspensor belts enabling vertical exploration. The Coriolis Storms, massive sandstorms that reshape the PvP deep deserts weekly, were also showcased, promising new exploration opportunities for brave players.

February 20

⚫︎ Funcom 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 the exclusive in-game decoration, the ‘Terrarium of Muad’Dib.’ While console versions are planned for a later date, PC players can already access a free character creator and benchmark tool on Steam to customize their avatar and test system performance before the game's launch.

January 7

⚫︎ Dune: Awakening promises a revolutionary gaming experience with the integration of NVIDIA DLSS 4 technology and next-gen Razer Chroma and Haptics. Announced at CES 2025, the game will utilize NVIDIA’s Multi Frame Generation to boost performance and visual quality, vividly capturing the harsh beauty of Arrakis. Razer's haptic devices and synchronized lighting will further immerse players in the world, allowing them to feel sandworm vibrations, sandstorm winds, and combat intensity in real-time.

2024

November 15

⚫︎ Last November's developer update for Dune: Awakening shed light on gameplay mechanics. Shields, utilizing Holtzman technology, protect against fast projectiles but are susceptible to slow melee attacks, poison, and fire, with their vibrations potentially attracting sandworms. Crafting these shields requires rare parts found at specific locations like Imperial Testing Stations. The game primarily features third-person gameplay, though certain tools like binoculars and scopes provide first-person perspectives.

Vehicles, which players can craft or discover, come with customizable access permissions and can be safely stored using a vehicle backup tool. While sandworm riding won't be available at launch, developers plan to introduce it meaningfully later. Players will advance by earning experience through exploration and completing contracts, unlocking abilities, crafting recipes, and skills, including those taught by Wandering Masters and Bene Gesserit techniques.

August 20

⚫︎ At Gamescom, a five-minute gameplay showcase for the open-world survival MMO Dune: Awakening provided a deeper look into the challenging world of Arrakis. Players will need to master Fremen survival skills, engage in combat, harvest spice, and participate in construction and trade. The game highlights player-driven choices that will shape their destiny amid escalating guild conflicts and battles for spice control.

March 5

⚫︎ In March 2024, Funcom revealed new details about Dune: Awakening, the upcoming survival MMO set on the desert planet Arrakis. Inspired by 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 generated excitement for the game, originally announced in 2022, especially following the release of Dune: Part Two.