The beta of Dune: Awakening lasted only a few days, but that was enough to provide many interested players with a comprehensive first impression. Many participants in the test express themselves very positively about the new survival MMO from Funcom.
What could one play in the beta? From May 9 to May 12, 2025, players could experience the first act of the story of Dune: Awakening and explore 3 of a total of 12 regions. A travel feature guides all visitors of the desert planet and names the next goals, about which one learns new recipes and tools or tries out functions.
Those who followed this journey built an initial base, weapons, armor, and a sand bike. Players could explore research stations and camps while dealing with sandworms, patrolling ships in the sky, as well as thirst and heat. The developers themselves state that the beta offered about 20 to 25 hours of gameplay.
By the way, this is exactly the part of the game that MeinMMO editor Benedikt Grothaus was able to play in January 2025 – his conclusion back then: I have played thousands of hours of survival games, but Dune: Awakening is different from any of them.
The story trailer for Dune Awakening:
Lots of praise, some complaints
How does the community like the game? According to steamcharts.com, tens of thousands used their access on the weekend to explore the beta servers. At peak times, 37,725 players were simultaneously online in Dune: Awakening.
In the past few hours, new reports have been emerging on various community platforms where beta players express their experiences – and very often these reports read extremely positively.
- InfiniteTrade7073 writes on Reddit after 33 hours: “Thank you for the best survival game I have ever played. I have never felt so scared and relaxed in a game at the same time. The survival aspects are so much fun.”
- MadMacronex praises on Reddit after 32 hours and at level 42: “At this point, I am so ready to keep progressing and just want to unlock more fun features. I stop playing because I just want more and know that I can’t have it. June 5 can’t come soon enough!”
- Thormodor summarizes his impressions on Reddit as follows: “I think the game is promising and I will buy the Ultimate Edition. Not because of the early access (a practice in games that I really hate), but because of the building set. Had fun exploring, fighting, and building. I’m worried about the PvP, as there are no PvE servers or private servers.”
- jpg14 was indecisive, but is now excited about the game, via Reddit: “All in all, wow, I could continue playing, but I think I am satisfied. I will let this game rest until release and will enjoy the rest when I can play at my own pace. A shoutout to Funcom; I am excited.”
Anyone who has already experienced one or more Funcom launches knows that the games from the Norwegians have historically gone live with many issues. In this regard, the beta version of Dune: Awakening turned out to be surprisingly solid. Players did experience some bugs, crashes, or performance issues – but these were within reasonable limits.
What has been criticized? Aside from the technical issues mentioned, criticism from some beta testers mainly revolves around areas such as character control, the feeling of combat, and PvP.
- SaintAlunes criticizes on Reddit: “Since endgame consists mainly of PvP, the PvP combat is unacceptable, and I don’t believe it can be fixed in the coming months. Terrible animations, terrible melee mechanics, a lot of lag, getting stuck on terrain, stunlocking, etc.”
- Fallen10111 complains on Reddit: “Movement/mobility is trash. I have never played Conan Exiles, but I have played ARK, and I would say that much of the running around, the non-smooth transitions in animations, and the overall movement look like many of the Conan videos I’ve seen, and remind me strongly of ARK – and not in a really good way.”
- Regarding combat, Fallen10111 writes in the same post: “Pretty mediocre and sometimes a bit frustrating. The AI and its pathfinding are… unpredictable, but under the right circumstances also predictable. It is very easy to take out people with headshots with a pistol. I didn’t like melee combat much, but that’s probably more of a personal preference.”
In addition, many players wish for refinement and improvements for the handling of the numerous tools, for the quite limited inventory, or the user interface. Overall, however, Dune: Awakening is currently very well received by many players. Have you perhaps also played it? What is your first impression? You can find more about the game in our overview: Everything about release, prices, editions, and content of Dune: Awakening.
