Dune is widely regarded as the most iconic and influential science fiction work of the 20th century, with Frank Herbert’s original 1965 novel redefining the potential of the genre. Its extensive exploration of themes such as politics, religion, ecology, and imperialism has left a lasting impact on generations, while the deserts of Arrakis, the Fremen, and Shai-Hulud have become ingrained in pop culture long before modern adaptations emerged.
Denis Villeneuve’s blockbuster films have introduced Herbert’s universe to a vast new audience, while HBO’s Dune: Prophecy has expanded the narrative thousands of years into the past, with an eight-episode second season currently in development following its successful debut.
Dune has also recently entered a significant new era in gaming, with Funcom’s Dune: Awakening officially launching on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on September 22. This release brings its expansive open-world experience of Arrakis to console players along with major new features. One feature, in particular, takes the gameplay in an entirely new direction.
Dune’s Latest Release Introduces Major Changes To The Formula
Dune: Awakening is undergoing a significant genre shift with its console release, moving away from the multiplayer-first experience that initially defined the game. At launch, Awakening was centered around a persistent online world, large-scale multiplayer interactions, faction competition, survival crafting, and PvE or PvP sections across Arrakis. Funcom initially positioned the project closely to the MMO space before ultimately describing it as an open-world multiplayer survival game instead.
However, players can now experience virtually the entire adventure as a dedicated single-player game, one of the most requested features since launch. The new mode eliminates other human players while retaining NPCs, the Deep Desert, progression systems, and the complete Book One storyline.
Multiplayer-oriented elements have been completely reworked, with the Landsraad simulating competing players and the Deep Desert no longer resetting or wiping player buildings in single-player mode. Players can also select difficulty presets or individually customize elements like progression and harvesting.
Dune: Awakening, for all intents and purposes, has transformed into a traditional single-player open-world survival RPG, marking a dramatic departure from the large-scale online experience for which it was originally designed. The multiplayer game still exists and is fully playable in its original form.
Dune: Awakening Is Available For Console Now
Dune: Awakening officially launched for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on September 22, providing console players access to what Funcom describes as the game’s most complete version yet. The Standard Edition is priced at $49.99 on both platforms, while the Deluxe Edition costs $69.99 and includes four DLC packs alongside the Sardaukar Bator Armor.
The Ultimate Edition is listed at $89.99, adding extras including the Dune 2021 film stillsuit, Caladan Palace building set, vehicle color swatches, digital artbook, and soundtrack. Buyers of Deluxe and Ultimate Editions also received five-day early access beginning September 17.
Xbox players have another option as well since Dune: Awakening is available with Xbox Game Pass and supports Xbox Play Anywhere, Cloud Gaming, shared progression, and cross-play between Xbox and the Microsoft Store PC version.
The console release comes alongside much more than just the new single-player mode. September 22 introduces the final chapter of the Book One storyline, expanded difficulty and gameplay customization options, console-optimized controls and UI, as well as Performance and Quality graphics modes. Console players also benefit from numerous content additions and gameplay improvements introduced since the original PC launch over a year ago, effectively making this a major relaunch for Dune: Awakening.
Dune: Awakening
7/10
- Released
- June 10, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Funcom
- Publisher(s)
- Funcom
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
