Everything We Learned At The Dune Awakening Event

With the recent release of Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part 2 and the popularity surrounding it, there's never been a better time to delve into the Dune universe. Over the years, there have been a plethora of Dune video games, though some have been more successful than others.

Despite clearly being intended as a companion to the popular Dune movies, **Dune: Awakening ** 's " what if? " __ storytelling grants players the opportunity to embark upon an adventure across Arrakis that's familiar but also unique. While Funcom's intention to include more characters from the Dune stories in its game is a novel way to let players interact with and learn more about those who didn't survive long in the books or films - with Funcom stating that more characters will appear over time as the game continues to grow - it's yet to be seen how fans of the Dune books and movies will react to such drastic changes.


Though it eschews the main narrative of Herbert's beloved Dune series, the game still draws great inspiration from the worldbuilding of both the book series and the recent films of Denis Villeneuve. The influence of the movies' cinematography is evident from the title's new trailer, which utilizes striking visuals to emphasize both the dangers and potential to be found on Arrakis. While there's still a lot to learn about the MMO, the event did offer several key takeaways about Dune: Awakeni

This direct sequel to Dune 2000 (the aforementioned remake of 1992's Dune 2 ) was, like its predecessors, developed by Westwood Studios. For fans of Westwood's style, Emperor: Battle For Dune provided more of what people had come to know and love. However, by this point, the market was flooded with RTS games, making it a competitive space; games such as the original Stronghold and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds , for example, were released in the same year.


Traversing across the sands can attract sandworms that will devour the player, taking all their gear, items, and - if nearby - their vehicles. Dune: Awakening 's sandworms devour and destroy everything, while standard deaths in conventional combat lead to minor losses. It not only helps realize the dangers of Arrakis, but ensures players are mindful of what they are carrying where. The demoist showed us a couple of vehicles players could use, all derived from the Dune franchise obviously, and losing them in such a vast world is no doubt a serious loss, alongside any high-level gear. Players could craft that gear again, but it requires finding the schematic, necessary materials, and so forth. Gaining anything in Dune: Awakening is an investment, and the sandworm can just wipe that all cl

In an interview with PC Gamer , Creative Director, Joel Bylos pointed go to R 12imob a " single point " that Funcom changed while working closely with the family of Dune author Frank Herbert, which was a major catalyst in the original story. While he didn't elaborate on what this exact moment was, he did reveal that many characters who died early in the Dune story are alive and can be interacted with in Dune: Awakening , including Duke Leto Atreides.

The Bene Gesserit will likely still be trying to birth the Kwisatz Haderach, however, and there are other possibilities due to the survival of Duke Leto. For example, Lady Jessica is pregnant with Alia in Dune: Part Two , and with Leto surviving for eight more years, it's possible that he would get to know his daughter better, potentially changing her destiny too. The Bene Gesserit wanted Lady Jessica to have a girl, so it's extremely possible they could have turned their attention to Alia instead. Alternatively, they could turn to Feyd-Rautha and the Harkonnen side of the family tree to attempt to birth the Kwisatz Haderach, being an even more extreme departure from the source material.

Visually, **Dune: Awakening ** looks like it's set in the world of Denis Villeneuve's Dune movie adaptations, with the studio behind these films, Legendary, having shared assets with the development team at Funcom, as well as inviting them on set. Despite this, the game's story has made at least one massive change from the book and the movies that could have major consequences going forward.


**Dune: Awakening ** brings together survival and MMO elements with the beloved IP as a framework, taking players to Arrakis where they’ll fight against sandworms, hot sun, other players, and a myriad of other threats to become a successful desert dweller. The title comes from Funcom, which previously produced another massive online experience with Conan Exiles . Though the game doesn’t have a finalized release date yet besides a 2025 window, it’s already entered a playable beta for players lucky enough to snag a s


Besides base building, players will largely make progress through making skill and technology tree purchases using the associated points earned through day-to-day activities. For skills, players will choose an origin at the beginning that determines which of five trees they’ll be able to begin unlocking things on - Bene Gesserit, Mentat, Trooper, Planetologist, and Sword Master - though others can become options through finding characters to be an apprentice to. There’s also a swathe of technology categories: Essentials, Water Discipline, Combat, Construction, Exploration, Vehicles, and Uniques, which includes everything from water harvesters to fighting moves like strong, special ki