DUNE: AWAKENING

The Survival Genre At Its Finest

- Reviewed By: Matt Keith

Developer: Funcom Publisher: Funcom ESRB Rating: M (Mature) Release Date: 10/06/2025 Played On: PC (Microsoft Windows) Reviewed By: Matt Keith

Dune: Awakening is a massive multiplayer, survival title from FUNCOM. Creator of The Secret World Legends and Conan Exiles, FUNCOM is no stranger to MMOs and Survival games and has brought all their experience and skills to their latest large-scale survival title set in the Dune universe. Having previously given Dune: Awakening a test drive back in April, I've been eagerly awaiting its release. Having spent the last week in Arrakis, Dune: Awakening is providing some of the best survival gaming I've experienced in quite some time.

While there are still hundreds of hours to be spent exploring and crafting my way through every inch of the vast and beautiful world that FUNCOM has created, the time I've spent with Dune: Awakening has provided incredible insight into lengths the developer has gone to in order to bring the world of Dune to the players in a real and fascinating way.

While I will hold back from revealing story details that could be seen as spoilers, the premise is that this is an alternate version of the Dune universe in which Paul Atreides is never born, the Atreides family survives the attack of Arrakeen, and is now engaged in a conflict with Vladimir Harkonnen and his forces. The player is thrust into the "War of Assassins" and crash lands on Arrakis, where they'll work to gain renown with one of the factions fighting over the planet.