Funcom has announced the start of pre-orders for Dune: Awakening, the open-world survival MMO set on the treacherous planet of Arrakis. Launching on May 20th, 2025, players will soon be able to experience the harsh yet beautiful world inspired by Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi saga and the award-winning film from Legendary Pictures. Developed by the veteran team at Funcom, Dune: Awakening aims to deliver a thrilling experience for both fans of the Dune IP and survival game enthusiasts.

To celebrate the pre-order launch, Funcom released a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the game's soundtrack, composed by award-winning composer Knut Avenstroup Haugen. The video showcases Haugen collaborating with a live orchestra at the legendary AIR Lyndhurst Studios in London.

Creative Director Joel Bylos detailed the game's business model and post-launch plans in a video.  Dune: Awakening will launch as a full release, not Early Access, and will not require a subscription. The game will be expanded with free content updates and feature optional DLC, following a classic business model.

Funcom has a long history of developing and operating live service games, with several MMOs still running (Anarchy Online celebrates its 25th anniversary next year), and Conan Exiles has thrived for eight years with DLC, expansions, and free updates.  Dune: Awakening will follow a similar path, continually evolving with new content, features, and improvements via free updates.

Three editions of Dune: Awakening are available for pre-order on Steam: Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate. The Deluxe and Ultimate editions include five days of early access and unique items, including a Season Pass granting access to four DLC packs, with the first unlocking at launch. The Deluxe edition also includes imposing Sardaukar armor.  The Ultimate edition includes everything in the Deluxe Edition, plus Paul Atreides' iconic stillsuit from the 2021 film, a digital artbook, the digital soundtrack, unique color schemes, and the House Atreides Palace Pack, featuring building parts, placeables, and decorations.

Pre-ordering any edition grants a general color scheme for vehicles, weapons, and armor, and the Muad'Dib Terrarium, a base decoration featuring the iconic sandworm. Latest Game Information

Dune: Awakening will be among the first titles to support NVIDIA DLSS 4 multi-frame generation technology, enhancing the game's visuals and performance. Support for AMD FSR and Intel XeSS 2 technologies is also included.  Immersion is further amplified by Razer Chroma RGB and Razer Sensa HD haptic feedback support.

Funcom also revealed the PC system requirements. Minimum specifications include Windows 10 64-bit, an Intel Core i5-7400 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 processor, 16GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (8GB) or AMD Radeon 5600XT (6GB) graphics card, and 60GB of storage. Recommended specifications call for an Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X processor, 16GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (8GB) or AMD Radeon 6700XT (12GB) graphics card, and 75GB of storage.

A special livestream on March 24th will feature gameplay, developer Q&A, and more in-depth information about the announcements. Composer Knut Avenstroup Haugen will discuss the game's music, and World Director Jean-François Gagné will showcase Arrakis. The livestream will be hosted by Senior Communications Manager Natascha Röösli on Funcom's Twitch channel and Steam.

Players can get a head start by downloading the Character Creator and benchmark mode on Steam, which allows for early character creation, hardware testing, and unlocks a FrameBlade dagger skin.

Funcom is a developer and publisher of PC and console games. Founded in 1993, the company has released over 20 titles. Legendary Entertainment is a leading media company with film, television, digital media, and comic book divisions, dedicated to creating quality content for global audiences. Frank Herbert (1920-1986) authored the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Dune, a complex, genre-spanning masterpiece that has sold millions of copies worldwide and been translated into over 40 languages. His literary estate is managed by his son Brian Herbert and grandchildren Kim Herbert and Byron Merritt.