Dune: Awakening

"Your journey begins here, in the desert. Find the Fremen. Wake the Sleeper"

―Tagline

Dune: Awakening is an upcoming open world survival MMO video game developed and published by Funcom.

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

Gameplay design will be 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 will focus 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 informing Jessica of his treachery.^[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]

Gameplay[]

Awakening will feature 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:

Arrakeen (social hub)^[6]
The Deep Desert (most of the fighting occurs in this area, as players war over resources)^[6]
Hagga Basin (game's starting point)^[10]
Harko Village (social hub)^[6]

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 are brought to see Imperial Truthsayer Gaius Helen Mohiam. 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 wreckage, wishing them to recover safely. ^[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.

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.^[13]

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. ^[14]

Reception[]

By June 2024, 1 million Steam users had placed the game on their wishlist.^[5]

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.

Details[]

Details
At the invitation of Theogames, Voxel interviewed Bruno Nunes, one of the game's art directors, responsible for the Discipline and Architecture aspects of Dune Awakening. He gave us more details about the game's parallel universe, which was available for testing at the fair.
Among the new features revealed, Bruno Nunes commented on the influence of the films on the game's production, in addition to providing details about the gameplay of the online title, which is scheduled for release in 2025.
Villeneuve's influence on the game
Something that caught everyone's attention since its first trailer during The Game Awards 2022 was the similarity with the universe of director Denis Villeneuve's films, a success with audiences and critics. Without going into too much detail, Bruno said that the game began pre-production in 2019, two years before the first film was released, and features collaborations with Legendary Pictures.
“We had the opportunity to visit the sets in Hungary. At the same time, this served as visual inspiration for the game's lore from Denis Villeneuve's films. The films served as inspiration, but the game has a different timeline.”
Dune Awakening takes place in a parallel reality in which Paul Atreides was not born. With that, the player will have to choose between four classes and start their journey from there.
Other planets from Dune will be in the game
During our gameplay we had access to a small desert area of Arrakis, the main planet of the saga, home of the Spice, fuel for the main war between House Atreides and the Harkonnen. When asked about the inclusion of other planets in the game, Bruno gave us a slight smile and, without going into too much detail, asked if they will be included at the game's launch.
The main planet of Dune Awakening will have different biomes.
“The books explore other planets, one of which is Caladan, home of the Atreides. There are many possibilities for the future, but we still have more things to explore on Arrakis,” said the art director. According to Bruno, the “small” map will be about 64 square kilometers, with different locations and biomes.
“We have more places on Arrakis to explore in this game! We have an ice zone. There is a lot of variety in biomes, we have a forest in there that completely changes from the desert. There are stone cities, dark areas of the Harkonnen. It needs to vary, otherwise it would all be beige.”
(Source)
While the game starts as a traditional survival adventure, Funcom claimed that as the game progresses, your character will have the chance to influence the world of Arrakis politically. Be that doing missions for certain Great Houses, or influencing the economy of the world, the game stops being about literal survival and focuses more on fighting for your political life.
(Source)