What is the Dune Awakening release date? They who control the Spice, control the universe. Anyone who has even briefly rubbed shoulders with the blockbuster book-and-now-profitable-movie series Dune will know that spice, and the desert planet of Arrakis, are central to many stories in that universe. And now, with Dune Awakening, it’ll be central to yours, too.
Dune Awakening is an open world, crafting, survival MMO. That is a lot of descriptors, but Dune Awakening plans on merging them all, creating an experience for players to rival that of any established character in the sandy franchise. You’ll fight, harvest, craft, survive, and thrive on Arrakis. But what is the Dune Awakening release date?
Dune Awakening release date
The Dune Awakening release date for PC is Tuesday, May 20, 2025, as confirmed by the release date reveal trailer. The game will also eventually be available on PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, though a launch date has yet to be revealed.
Ahead of launch, you can still signup for the Dune Awakening beta on its website. The beta went into a ‘persistent’ state in 2024, meaning that it is online 24/7. The developer suggests you join the Dune Awakening Discord and create a beta profile to stand the best chance of playing the game early.
Anyone who does gain access to the closed beta tests will have to sign an NDA but will be in a prime position to give Funcom vital feedback to improve the game, and potentially make their mark on Arrakis before anyone else.
If you haven’t been successful in gaining access, then at the very least you can check out Aaron’s January 2025 Dune Awakening preview for his most up-to-date impressions of the game.
Dune Awakening trailers
“Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.” Those words ring true and must be abided by if you hope to stand any hope of survival. The announcement trailer gives us a taste of the dangers that lurk on Arrakis, the lengths you must go to survive, and how we can use the environment to our advantage in Dune Awakening.
Alongside the release date announcement, a gameplay trailer reveal came out of Gamescom Opening Night Live showcasing the character creation screen and how the opening of the game will play out. Much like you’d expect, we crash into Arrakis and must survive the harsh desert terrain, scorching sun, and of course, sandworms.
We also get a look at how base building works, from using a blood purifier to extract water, creating and trading blueprints with other players, and mining for resources. We can also take to the air and scout out the planet, mapping key coordinates and uncovering landmarks.
At the center of all this are hubs where you can use spice for trading and earning power, coming into powerful blows with other players also searching for the precious resource.
Dune Awakening story
The Dune MMO, according to Joel Bylos, wanted to take the story in a different direction – he wants to put players on Arrakis and give them a sense of agency without the ever-looming shadow of Paul hovering over them. Because of this, Dune Awakening will take place in a sort of alternative future, one where Jessica had a daughter, instead of a son, and one where House Atredis was able to prepare for the Emperor’s betrayal and survive the Battle of Arrakeen.
This opens up the future to many possibilities and is indeed where the player comes into the fold. The Fremen, according to the propaganda, have been eradicated, but Bylos hints that this might not be totally true. They are missing, yes, but destroyed? Who knows.
Dune Awakening character creation
During the second Dune Direct showcase, we were given a sneak peek at the Dune Awakening character creation. It covers familiar territory in terms of your physical appearance; with hair, beards, height, and even the thickness of your arms all being customizable. Where it stands apart, however, is choosing your backstory.
It looks as though once your physical appearance is set, you’ll be interrogated by a Reverand Mother – they want to know you, where you’ve been, and who you associate with. Essentially, what brought you here. Not only does this background information allegedly award you unique dialogue options in-game, but it also grants you access to specific emotes, traits, and abilities.
It’s then that you are commanded to kneel, and to put your hand inside the box. The Reverand Mother gives you your mission: go to Arrakis, find the Fremen, and awake the sleeping.
That’s everything we know about Dune Awakening release date window right now, but rest assured we’ll update this as soon as more information comes to light. If you’re after something to play while you wait, there has been a glut of survival games released recently, and of course, we have our list of the best PC games that you can play right now.