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Dune: Awakening

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"Your journey begins here, in the desert. Find the Fremen. Wake the Sleeper"
―Tagline[src]

Dune: Awakening is a multiplayer survival game, developed and published by Funcom, that was released for Windows on June 10, 2025, with early access beginning on June 5.

The game's art direction emulates the style of Denis Villeneuve's movies.[1] The game does not have a subscription fee.[4]

Gameplay design is much in the same vein as Conan Exiles, another licensed open world survival MMO video game developed by Funcom.

Summary[]

Dune: Awakening combines the grittiness and creativity of survival games with the social interactivity of large-scale, persistent multiplayer games to create a unique and ambitious Open World Survival MMO. Rise from survival to dominance in a vast and seamless Arrakis shared by thousands of players.

  • Survive the most dangerous planet in the universe. Build shelters against sandstorms, maintain your stillsuit, and master the old ways to walk even the deepest deserts. Avoid or be devoured by the colossal sandworms that dwell beneath the sands.
  • Explore the ever-changing face of Arrakis. Walk the ruins of long-forgotten biological testing stations, scavenge the wreckage of fallen spaceships, and wander the dusty halls of abandoned sietches. Head into unmapped sectors and be the first to discover secrets and riches before the coriolis storms once again shift the sands and alter the landscape.
  • Control the spice, control Arrakis. Hunt for spice blooms and deploy your harvester, then protect it from opportunistic raiders and rival factions. Soak the sand in blood as massive battles shift seamlessly from foot to vehicles and from ground to ornithopters in the sky.
  • Make plans within plans. Make a name for yourself among the inhabitants of Arrakis. Wield intrigue and force to influence the Landsraad and impact the world. Build your own faction through spice harvesting, trade, subterfuge, and open conflict.
  • Awaken the sleeper. Tailor every aspect of your character. Consume spice to conquer your senses and acquire powerful abilities. Hone your craft to become sought out for the finest creations. Construct your fortress in the style of your choosing. The journey is yours to shape.

Dune Awakening focuses on five main pillars: survival, politics, infinite exploration, weapon combat and customization.

Synopsis[]

Awakening is based on a "what if?" scenario, where Jessica Atreides gave birth to a daughter rather than Paul.[5] Duke Leto Atreides is still alive, as the betrayal of Dr. Wellington Yueh was prevented due to the Bene Gesserit training Jessica as a Truthsayer.[6] Leto's leadership ensures that House Atreides survives the Siege of Arrakeen, resulting in a "War of Assassins" between his forces and those of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. The Fremen disappear from Arrakis, and it is up to the player character to discover what happened to them. By order of Emperor Shaddam IV, the Sardaukar have established a military presence on Arrakis to ensure the supply of spice, but also to monitor the conflict between Atreides and Harkonnen. [7]Later, the player character must fill the void left by the absence of Paul Muad'Dib, either by backing one of the warring factions, or by creating and leading their own.[8]

Voice Cast[]

Great Houses[]

Hagga Basin/Deep Desert[]

Harko Village Characters[]

Arrakeen[]

Communinet Radio[]

Additional Voices[]

Gameplay[]

Awakening features a crafting system and skill trees. A character creation system is included, where players can choose their character's home planet, origin, and appearance.[9] The player takes control of an unnamed prisoner.[4] While the game takes place on Arrakis, and is therefore mostly set in desolate environments, players will be able to explore micro-biomes, such as pockets of shelter to build a base in, and caves filled with hostile creatures. Players can raid the camps of scavengers for supplies and resources.[9] Players may ally either with House Atreides or Harkonen.[4]

Sandworms feature as enemies, but cannot be fought, only fled from. If a sandworm devours a player, they lose all their gear. The same is true for dying in the game's PVP system, or if a player fails to take cover in a world-changing event.[6]

Players have to manage their water reserves, which includes extracting and purifying water from slain enemies. A heat-stroke mechanic triggers if players spend too much time in the open sun. This results in crippling debuffs.[9]

Sandstorms feature in the game. Every week, sections of the game not protected by a shield will be hit by a sandstorm, wiping out all the buildings players have constructed in the last seven days. These Coriolis storms regularly alter the landscape, uncovering new valuable resources and sweeping away player-built outposts.[6]

Five skill trees feature, which allow the option of three techniques players can mix with their main attacks. As players interact with the warring factions on Arrakis, they can learn special skills from mentats and members of the Bene Gesserit.[6]

Zones have level caps.[6]

Players can use vehicles such as ornithopters to more quickly traverse the landscape; however, vehicles must be built individually.[10]

Locations[]

The following locations have thus been confirmed:

More locations will be added as time goes by.

Storyline[]

Before the events of the game, the Lady Jessica Atreides obeys her orders and gives birth to a female child, Ariste Atreides[11]. Dr. Wellington Yueh is exposed as a traitor before the Siege of Arrakeen and thus Duke Leto Atreides is not assassinated. House Atreides survives the Siege of Arrakeen with the knowledge squeezed out of Dr. Yueh. Leto petitions the Landsraad and Shaddam IV (having successfully concealed his role in Yueh's treachery) decrees that vengeance may be exacted upon House Harkonnen, but that all fighting must be contained on Arrakis to preserve the flow of spice. The Sardaukar are deployed on Arrakis to assume responsibility for harvesting Spice Melange and a War of Assassins begins across the planet of Arrakis. The Fremen vanish completely, with rumors swirling of their demise.

The player character is a prisoner of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, and they are brought to see a Reverend Mother. She makes the Prisoner face the Gom Jabbar test, and quizzes the Player on their origins and training. She tells the Prisoner that great plots are afoot in the Imperium and that Arrakis is the key. She tells the Prisoner that he will go to Arrakis as a Bene Gesserit agent, with one task: "Find the Fremen, awake the Sleeper". [7]

Later, the Prisoner awakens in a cave filled with remnants of the Fremen culture. They take a Fremkit from a corpse and craft a small metal scrap knife using its materials. They escape the cave with the help of the Fremkit's remaining supplies. The Prisoner encounters a Fremen named Zantara, who informs them that it was him who placed the Prisoner in the cave after saving them from the wreckage, wishing them a safe recovery. [12]

Later, the Prisoner's Ornithopter crashes, and they escape, just in time to avoid being eaten by a small Sandworm. They are then forced to continue into the harsh desert on foot.

System Requirements[]

System requirements[13] are divided into four tiers: Minimum (Low), Medium, Recommended (High), and Ultra. Each tier specifies the hardware required to achieve the listed resolution and frame rate, all of which require an SSD for storage.

Minimum (Low) Settings

Performance: 1080p at 30 fps  OS: Windows 10 64-bit (or newer)  Processor: Intel Core i5-7400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3400  

Memory: 16 GB RAM  Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB) or AMD Radeon RX 5600XT (6GB)  Storage: 60 GB available space (SSD required)

This setup is ideal for players with older systems who still want to experience Dune: Awakening at basic settings. You'll get 30 fps at 1080p, but don't expect high visual fidelity.

Medium Settings

Performance: 1080p at 60 fps  OS: Windows 10 64-bit (or newer)  Processor: Intel Core i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600  

Memory: 16 GB RAM  Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (8GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6600 (8GB)  

Storage: 75 GB available space (SSD required)

For smoother gameplay at 60 fps while maintaining 1080p resolution, the medium settings strike a balance between performance and visuals. The upgraded GPU ensures better handling of the game's textures and effects.

Recommended (High) Settings

Performance: 1440p at 60 fps  OS: Windows 10 64-bit (or newer)  Processor: Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X  

Memory: 16 GB RAM  Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (8GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (12GB)  

Storage: 75 GB available space (SSD required)

The recommended settings are perfect for most modern gaming PCs, delivering crisp 1440p visuals at a steady 60 fps. This tier enhances graphical details, making the deserts of Arrakis truly come alive.

Ultra Settings

Performance: 2160p (4K) at 60 fps  OS: Windows 10 64-bit (or newer)  Processor: Intel Core i7-11700K or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X  

Memory: 16 GB RAM  Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (12GB) or AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (12GB)  

Storage: 75 GB available space (SSD required)

For those with high-end rigs, ultra settings offer the ultimate Dune: Awakening experience at 4K resolution and 60 fps. The top-tier GPU and CPU ensure you can max out all graphical settings without compromise.

Development[]

The game's developers were able to visit the set of Dune: Part One to take inspiration.[2] The game was officially announced in August, 2022.[4]

The game had entered closed beta by June, 2024.[5] The game will not have an early access version.[4]

The game will be updated post-launch. Story content will be free, while paid DLC will offer additional side content.[4]

Soundtrack[]

Knut Avenstroup Haugen composed the soundtrack for the game and it was recorded in London at AIR Studio. It utilises traditional orchestral instruments, flutes, synthesisers, percussion and vocals. It is more adaptive than Funcom's previous soundtrack's. The tracks are separated into different parts with different tones, played during different gameplay scenarios. For example it may change when in battle to a intense track and revert back to a peaceful one when walking the dunes, still part of the same track. The adaptive tracks are in D Minor and have the same BPM which allows this process to be seamless. The Pre-order for one the deluxe editions of Awakening include digital soundtrack.[14]

The game will include an in-game radio, the 'Communinet'. It will play music inspired by the history of Dune, included the soundtrack of the 'Dune' videogame and the soundtrack for Dune II in addition to in-universe broadcasts. [15]

Reception[]

By June 2024, 1 million Steam users had placed the game on their wishlist.[5] During early access, the game had a max concurrent player count of 93,634 on Steam. As of June 2025, the game has a "mostly positive" rating.[16]

Notes[]

  • The games base layout is hand crafted and some detail is procedurally generated with the Houdini system.
  • Wormriding will not be a feature of the game at launch, but the developers have stated they wish to add it later down the line.
  • In June, Funcom and Legendary worked with MADRINAS to create an official collector's box. This collector's box includes a Spiced Chai Latte Milk tea and a shaker cup.

Media[]

Gallery[]

See: Dune: Awakening/Gallery

Videos[]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 YouTube: Dune: Awakening – Creating Worlds, from Book to Film to Game
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Game Rant: Dune: Awakening Open World Game Shows Arrakis, Base-Building, Combat, and More
  3. ↑ https://www.radiotimes.com/technology/gaming/dune-awakening-release-date-delayed-newsupdate/
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Game Rant: Dune: Awakening Will Be a Full Release With No Monthly Subscription
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 ReadWrite: With over 1 million people wish listing Dune: Awakening on Steam, Funcom reveals its alternative world structure in latest showcase
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 IGN: Dune Awakening Will Go to Drastic Lengths to Make its Sandstorms Matter
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://youtu.be/J18oH_FBDYM?si=deBzh-M69XCct9OD
  8. ↑ https://steamcommunity.com/app/1172710/discussions/0/4351116183213504422/
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 IGN: Dune: Awakening Is Looking Supremely Cool – As It Was Written
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Yahoo: In Dune: Awakening you 'physically fly' your ornithopter between servers on an overland map filled with 'hundreds of other players'
  11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3iXncXy5b4
  12. ↑ After 7 hours, Dune: Awakening might be the mix of survival and RPG that finally wins me over to the genre
  13. ↑ Dune: Awakening System Requirements
  14. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVhJ-Eu-l-U
  15. ↑ https://www.duneawakening.com/en/the-classic-90-s-music-from-dune-and-dune-ii-games-is-coming-to-dune-awakening
  16. ↑ GameRant: Dune: Awakening Reaches Huge Player Milestone During Advanced Access Period

External links[]

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Dune video games

Dune • Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty • Dune 2000 • Emperor: Battle for Dune • Frank Herbert's Dune • Dune: Spice Wars • Dune: Awakening

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