Funcom announces open world game Dune: Awakening and shows trailer

Publisher Funcom has released a cinematic trailer for Dune: Awakening, officially announcing this game. It is an open world MMO with survival elements set in the Dune universe of sci-fi writer Frank Herbert.

The announcement during the gamescom fair didn’t say much about the gameplay and nothing can be seen in the trailer. funcom says that the game is inspired by Herbert’s masterpiece and the recent Hollywood film by Denis Villeneuve. The signature giant sandworms will certainly be present.

There will probably also be some innovations in the game; Funcom talks about ‘exploring exciting new possibilities in the franchise’. At least in Dune: Awakening, players will have the chance to explore a ‘vast and seamless’ Arrakis ‘like never before’.

According to the publisher, the game “combines the grittiness and creativity of survival games with the social interactivity of large-scale, sustained multiplayer games to create a unique and ambitious open-world survival MMO.” Players can visit uncharted sectors and discover secrets and riches before storms change the landscape.

Escape from sandworms will also become a gameplay element, as will building a hideout into a full-fledged base. In addition, players can move around in the signature vehicles from the Dune universe.

Searching for spice, deploying a harvester and protecting these operations is also important. The latter means that there will also be a lot of fighting, where players can move ‘seamlessly’ from armored cars to battles in the flying Ornithopters. There will also be an extensive crafting system in the game and players can also acquire new skills via spice.

There will also be a clear political element in the game: Funcom talks about the possibilities for players to chart their way to power and build their influence in the Landsraad. Intrigue will play a not insignificant role in this.

Dune: Awakening is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. Interested parties can already sign up for a beta on the official site. The publisher says it will share more information about the game in the coming months. No release date has been announced for the time being.

This game is Funcom’s second Dune game. The company announced in 2019 that it had signed a deal with Legendary Studios to make at least three games in Frank Herbert’s universe. The first game to be announced is Dune: Spice Wars and Dune: Awakening is the second game that has now been announced.