Just in time for the ONL, Funcom released a new gameplay trailer for Dune: Awakening. It showcases the early game, but also for the first time teasers for endgame and spice activities. Additionally, there is now a release window.
What kind of trailer is this? The new trailer provides 5 minutes of almost exclusive gameplay insights. From character creation to the tutorial and even seemingly the endgame, everything is included – featuring a huge sandworm.
A release period is now known as well: Dune: Awakening is set to launch in Early 2025
for PC – so in spring 2025. A release for PlayStation and Xbox will be announced later.
Here you can check out the trailer for yourself. Further down, we have summarized everything for you, and MeinMMO survival expert Benedict Grothaus sends his impressions directly from the ONL location.
Spice Blows, Base Building, and Inventory Management
What can be seen in the trailer? The new gameplay trailer offers quite a bit to see – seemingly even almost chronologically in the order it’s experienced in the game. Here are a few highlights:
- Character creation
- The tutorial where players flee from a sandworm on rocky ground
- An initial encounter with other players
- Climbing
- Team take-downs of enemy bases
- Base building
- Ornithopter flights
- Harko Village, one of the player hubs
- The hunt for spice
- Political cutscenes
There are also insights into the game’s menu, including a look at the inventory: a character can carry ten different pieces of gear or clothing and has a total of eight slots for the loadout. The latter can be selected using the number keys.
New are also the insights into the hunt for spice aka the spice. Player groups with various equipment levels fight over a single source. The losers
are threatened by rocket launchers and tanks. In the end, they give up and call a sandworm that devours everything, including their opponents.
More about the gameplay of Dune: Awakening can be read in our hub for the game.
One of the best sci-fi universes of all time
What does the MeinMMO expert say? MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus was able to witness the trailer live and in color on-site. From the hall where the ONL is taking place, he sends his impressions of Dune: Awakening and even finds that the game could be the next big sci-fi thing after Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Dune: Awakening has captivated me since the first announcement. I have been waiting for years for a game that combines MMO and survival, and Funcom has promised exactly that. With Conan Exiles, they show that they are on the right track.
The new Dune may not reach the graphical level of the large, modern MMOs, but it doesn’t have to – because it brings sandbox elements that are not found in the genre so far. Just the enormous base building, the ornithopters, and the light survival aspects are features that set Dune: Awakening apart from other MMOs.
Additionally, there is the franchise itself. Dune is one of the best sci-fi universes of all time and conveys a dystopian world as well as only Fallout does. Even if you are not a fan of the sandbox elements, you will not find anything close to Dune in terms of science fiction in the near future.
The last MMO with a major franchise backing it and so much hype was Star Wars: The Old Republic from 2011. If Funcom can also manage the multiplayer aspect well, Dune will be the next big thing in the genre.
Benedict Grothaus in Cologne, 20.08.2024
What about you: Are you excited for Dune: Awakening? Feel free to share your thoughts on the game in the comments. You can find more from gamescom and especially the ONL in our overview of the trailers: Opening Night Live: All announcements and trailers from gamescom 2024 in overview.
