It's been about a year and a half since we first caught a glimpse of Dune: Awakening, Funcom's upcoming open world MMO based on the popular sci-fi franchise. Well, this week the team has properly introduced its new-gen survival title via the first in a series of 'Dune Direct' broadcasts.
The first Direct delivered a new gameplay trailer — which you can view up above — alongside a new deep-dive ViDoc looking at how developer Funcom is translating the world of Arrakis from book to film to video game. Here's a bit more about Funcom's take on Dune:
"Dune: Awakening combines the grit and creativity of survival games with the social interactivity of a large, persistent multiplayer game to create a unique and ambitious open-world survival MMO. Dune: Awakening is more sandbox than theme park. The emphasis lies in the freedom it offers in choosing and pursuing your goals, and the emergent moments that arise as they clash with that of other players.
Following Creating Worlds, the Survive Arrakis Trailer explodes out of the sand with colossal sandworms and soaring ornithopters. Gather materials to build your base in the style of your choosing, explore the deadly deserts in a variety of vehicles, learn deadly techniques and abilities from the Great Schools of the Imperium, and rise from survival to dominance. Witness the awesome scale and freedom of a living Arrakis."
We must admit this is looking fantastic so far - the team is really nailing the aesthetic; taking huge inspiration from the recent Dune film releases of course. It remains to be seen how the game will ultimately shape up — especially on console — but the potential is there for this to be a mainstay open world MMO.
We don't have any sort of release window yet, as you'd probably expect, but you can sign up for future beta tests via the game's website. Funcom is squarely in 'TBA' mode with this one - we'll let them continue working away on Dune: Awakening until it's good and ready!