Dune: Awakening - Latest Updates

Dune: Awakening News

2025

May 8

⚫︎ During the open beta weekend for Dune: Awakening, fans got an exciting taste of the first 20-25 hours of gameplay along with other features. A Global LAN Party livestream showcased an exploit that allowed players to stun their opponents indefinitely in PvP combat. Funcom's developers, including World Director Jeff Gagné and Lead Producer Ole Andreas Haley, swiftly acknowledged the issue and committed to resolving it before the game's official release.

May 8

⚫︎ Funcom is gearing up to ensure a smooth launch for Dune: Awakening, drawing on their experience with previous MMO launches. They plan to deploy thousands of servers, dubbed Hagga Basins, each designed to support 40 players simultaneously, with the capacity to handle several hundred accounts thanks to player turnover. To manage high demand, a server queue system will be implemented, and additional servers will be added as needed to maintain a seamless experience across different regions.

April 28

⚫︎ As Dune: Awakening nears its launch, Funcom is preparing for a large-scale beta weekend. They announced this event on their official website, inviting players to join the global beta test. A new trailer was also released, showcasing cinematic cutscenes and story snippets. To participate, players can wishlist and request access via the game's Steam page or receive beta codes during the game's global broadcast.

April 25

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

April 16

⚫︎ The release of Dune: Awakening has been rescheduled to June 10, 2025. Funcom made this decision to allow more time for enhancing the game and incorporating feedback from beta testers.

March 27

⚫︎ Dune Awakening's system requirements are designed to be accessible for older gaming PCs while also supporting high-end hardware for 4K gameplay. 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, and 16GB of RAM, allowing gameplay at 1080p and 30fps. For enhanced performance, the recommended specs suggest an RTX 3070 or RX 6700 XT.

March 26

⚫︎ Dune: Awakening is set to launch in May without an early access phase or monthly subscription, distinguishing it from other survival MMOs. Creative Director Joel Bylos has confirmed that the game will receive free updates, adding new content and quality-of-life improvements over time.

March 14

⚫︎ A new trailer for Dune: Awakening offers a detailed look at how players will establish their presence on Arrakis. The footage highlights key survival elements, including base construction, resource discovery, and vehicle crafting. It also introduces traversal tools like grappling hooks and suspensor belts for vertical exploration. A significant feature revealed is the Coriolis Storms, massive sandstorms that reshape the PvP deep deserts weekly, creating new exploration opportunities for adventurous players.

February 20

⚫︎ Funcom announced that Dune: Awakening will be available on PC via Steam starting May 20 for $49.99, with pre-orders opening soon. Early purchasers will receive the exclusive in-game decoration 'Terrarium of Muad'Dib.' While console versions are planned for a later date, PC players can currently access a free character creator and benchmark tool on Steam to customize their avatars and evaluate their system's performance before launch.

January 7

⚫︎ Dune: Awakening is set to deliver a groundbreaking experience by integrating NVIDIA DLSS 4 technology and next-generation Razer Chroma and Haptics. Announced at CES 2025, the game will leverage NVIDIA’s Multi Frame Generation for enhanced performance and visual quality, bringing the harsh beauty of Arrakis to life. Additionally, Razer’s haptic devices and synced lighting will immerse players in the world of Arrakis, allowing them to feel the vibrations of sandworms, the winds of sandstorms, and the intensity of combat in real-time.

2024

November 15

⚫︎ In a developer update from last November, the Q&A session for Dune: Awakening provided new insights into gameplay mechanics. Shields, which utilize Holtzman technology, protect against fast projectiles but are susceptible to slow melee strikes, poison, and fire, and can attract sandworms due to their vibrations. Crafting these shields requires rare parts found at specific locations like Imperial Testing Stations. While the game primarily uses a third-person perspective, certain tools like binoculars and scopes switch to first-person views.

Vehicles in the game can be crafted or discovered, with customizable access permissions and a vehicle backup tool for safe storage. Although sandworm riding won't be available at launch, the developers plan to introduce it later. Players will level up by earning experience through exploration and completing contracts, unlocking abilities, crafting recipes, and skills taught by Wandering Masters, including those of the Bene Gesserit.

August 20

⚫︎ At Gamescom, a five-minute gameplay showcase for the open-world survival MMO Dune: Awakening provided an in-depth look at the unforgiving world of Arrakis. Players must adapt to the desert planet by mastering Fremen survival skills, engaging in combat, harvesting spice, constructing bases, and trading. The game emphasizes player-driven choices that shape their destiny amidst escalating guild conflicts and battles for spice control.

March 5

⚫︎ In March 2024, Funcom unveiled new details about their upcoming survival MMO, Dune: Awakening, set in the harsh desert world of Arrakis. The game, inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune and Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation, was showcased in the first-ever Dune: Awakening Direct, featuring in-game footage and key gameplay features, all powered by Unreal Engine 5. The presentation heightened anticipation for the game, initially announced in 2022, and capitalized on the excitement surrounding the release of Dune: Part Two.