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Dune: Awakening – Survival-MMO
Genre: Survival | Developer: Funcom | Platform: PC | Release Date: June 10, 2025 | Model: Buy2Play
Das erwartet euch in Dune: Awakening
What is Dune: Awakening? The new survival MMO from Funcom was released on June 10, 2025, for PC and takes you to the desert planet Arrakis. However, you will not find the familiar storyline from the books or movies, but an alternate timeline where Paul Atreides was never born.
Hunger, thirst, sun, aggressive enemies – from the very first minute, survival is at the forefront of Dune: Awakening. By building better tools, equipment, bases, vehicles, and weapons, you increasingly ease your daily life, allowing you to focus more on exploring the game world, mastering dungeons, or experiencing the story.
In large parts of the game world, you can encounter a maximum of 39 other players. Exceptions are the two faction capitals and the Deep Desert, a huge endgame area where PvP is active in many places and changes fundamentally every week due to a storm.
What content does Dune: Awakening offer? Dune: Awakening offers you a harsh and hostile world. Yet there is plenty to experience, including:
- a fast-paced combat system with various types of weapons, skills, and gadgets like grappling hooks
- an atmospherically staged story that guides you through the level experience
- a comprehensive building system through which you can create more than just your own base
- an excellent implementation of the popular Dune IP in an MMO
- MMO typical gaming experience where you can join guilds and set laws for the entire server
What does Dune: Awakening cost? Dune: Awakening costs about 50 euros on Steam. Additionally, you can purchase a season pass for 25 euros, which unlocks all DLCs scheduled to be released until summer 2026. Those who opt for the Ultimate Edition will receive the base game and the season pass at a slightly cheaper price.
MeinMMO Conclusion: Great Survival Game for Genre and Dune Fans
Who is speaking? Karsten Scholz is actually specialized in MMORPGs, but he is also well-versed in the games of Funcom. He has been following Dune: Awakening since the beta and has spent a three-digit number of hours in the desert.
Why is it worth playing Dune: Awakening 2026? Dune: Awakening lives up to the name Survival Adventure, especially in the first hours of gameplay. As soon as you set foot on Arrakis, you fight against the scorching sun and constant thirst.
Then there are the many slavers, bandits, and deserters who will immediately attack your hero upon sight, as well as the Sardaukar patrols that can ambush you at night. But don’t forget the giant sandworms that hunt you and your vehicles as soon as you set foot or tire on the open desert.
Additionally, there are deadly sandstorms, radioactively contaminated areas, gnawing poison at your life points, as well as fire and the constant uncertainty in the game’s PvP zones about whether the character approaching you has peaceful or aggressive intentions.
Getting to know and fight against all these dangers gradually can be quite frustrating. Especially when a sandworm attack strips you down to your underwear. However, Dune: Awakening does a great job of creating a motivating sense of progress. With each new tool and every new piece of equipment, you noticeably fare better in the desert.
It is also great how the game takes you through the journey and the overarching storyline during the level phase. Just with this and all the tasks in the relatively peaceful Hagga Basin, you can have a lot, a lot of fun. And express your creativity. The building system known from Conan Exiles has been improved even further by the Funcom designers.
What are the problems with Conan Exiles? The endgame of Dune: Awakening has gone live with a few fundamental issues. It was primarily aimed at PvP fans who were part of a guild. Those who went solo or were not interested in PvP were left in the cold. The developers have been trying to find a solution that can satisfy both PvE and PvP fans since then.
Even more problematic for many players was the decay mechanic, which caused players to lose all their earned possessions after a long break from the game. This made many players lose the desire to return to Dune: Awakening. A solution for this only came in December 2025: a tool to fully save up to three bases.
Many more important new features and improvements are coming soon with Chapter 3. The update will be free as long as you own Dune: Awakening. The optional DLC “Scavengers of the Wastes” is expected to cost around 9 Euros. Currently, it does not include any story or quest content, but focuses on cosmetic items. The DLC is also included in the Season Pass.
Is that enough to fill up the mostly empty servers again? With a freshly released patch, the developers have cautiously introduced a feature that allows you to escape from ghost servers. You can learn more about it here: Dune Awakening fights against empty servers in patch 1.2.40 – Patch notes in German
