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Dune: Awakening Direct Reveals new Gameplay From the Survival MMO

Published: Apr. 12, 2024
Updated: Apr. 26, 2024

German English

In the debut episode of "Dune: Awakening Direct," a promotional series, Funcom unveiled a new gameplay trailer for Dune: Awakening, offering a glimpse into what players can expect from the upcoming survival MMO.

  • The new gameplay footage from Dune: Awakening seems to highlight three distinct phases of the game.
  • Initially, players will grapple with basic survival needs such as quenching thirst and hunger, as well as constructing a base.
  • The focus then shifts to "political survival," where players begin to control vehicles.
  • In the late game, open warfare over Spice in large-scale battles is apparent, with drones possibly playing a significant role.

Thirty Minutes of News on Dune: Awakening

Dune: Awakening New Gameplay

On Monday, March 4th, Funcom released the first episode of "Dune: Awakening Direct" on YouTube. Creative Director Joel Bylos primarily discussed the background of the new survival MMO, early gameplay, and the technical benefits of Unreal Engine 5, notably the new Lumen technology.

The highlight of the live broadcast, however, was a new gameplay trailer, introduced around 22 minutes in, which mixed rendered sequences with gameplay scenes. In one notable scene, a survivor successfully escapes a desert sandworm, which then dramatically rears its open mouth. The nearly 2-minute trailer, titled "Survive Arakis" and dated March 4, 2024, is available for viewing on YouTube (see below.)

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The new gameplay trailer consists of a mix of real and possibly rendered scenes, rapidly edited to represent the early, middle, and late stages of Dune: Awakening. As Joel Bylos commented, the MMO starts like a "traditional survival game," with a survivor mining resources using a mining laser on a Spice-rich rock.

Shortly after, the trailer showcases a semi-open living space with sleek stone construction, sophisticated furniture, and technology, including a notable upgrade station probably enhancing a piece of protective clothing, far from the basic survival setting of games like Conan Exiles or Stranded Deep.

A Mixture of Resource Gathering, Base Building, and Combat

Another early scene features the completion of a large, slender wind turbine, reminiscent of those in Starfield but with a more advanced look. This underscores the futuristic and seamless results of base building in Dune: Awakening.

In the later stages, survivors seem to be using vehicles, including a "desert motorcycle," and maybe even impressive spaceships. Also, high-tech combat technology is displayed, possibly involving remote-controlled drone weapons that neutralize enemies with lightning speed.

Images from what is presumed to be the late game suggest drones will play a significant role in the Spice war, with binoculars zooming in on large, dragonfly-like aircraft and military vehicles like tanks, as thinned soldier ranks move toward explosions.

Drone Wars?

In the later stages, survivors seem to be using vehicles, including a "desert motorcycle," and possibly impressive spaceships. Also, high-tech combat technology is displayed, possibly involving remote-controlled drone weapons that neutralize enemies with lightning speed.

Images from what is presumed to be the late game suggest drones will play a significant role in the Spice war, with binoculars zooming in on large, dragonfly-like aircraft and military vehicles like tanks, as thinned soldier ranks move toward explosions.

In Dune: Awakening, Survival Comes in two Forms

The material paints a picture of an increasingly modern and large-scale war for Spice. As in Frank Herbert's novel "Dune" and its film adaptations, politics is likely to play a role in Dune: Awakening.

Joel Bylos emphasized this in the first Direct episode, stating:

"Once you've survived long enough, it's time to think about political survival."

Joel Bylos

The specifics of this aspect remain undisclosed, hinting it may be explored in future episodes of Dune: Awakening Direct, which Funcom has promised will become a larger video series.

Dune: Awakening is slated for release in 2024 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with several closed beta tests planned before its launch. Interested players can sign up on the official website.

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After graduating from high school, I initially wanted to study instrumental music. However, eventually I pursued a career as a video game journalist, which I started at the prestigious Ehapa-Verlag publisher, among others. Today, I share my extensive video game expertise with Guided. I benefit from over 40 years of experience with PC and console games, as well as my work in game development for the indie studio Knights of Bytes. I understand how video games work, and I also know how to convey my knowledge in an understandable manner.
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