A term popularized 100 years ago, the Sci-Fi genre has been around since the early 1920s, and it continues to be one of the most popular genres of just about any medium. From novels to TV shows to movies to video games, Sci-Fi is absolutely everywhere, and while most modern Sci-Fi can trace its roots back to juggernauts like Star Trek, Star Wars, 2001, and Alien, the Dune series is actually responsible for popularizing a lot of tropes now common in the genre. Now, the new Dune Awakening game might bring things full-circle.
Announced at Gamescom Opening Night Live, Dune Awakening is an open-world survival MMO that drops players onto Dune's unforgiving desert planet, Arrakis. Though Dune video games have cropped up over the years, with one of the most famous titles essentially birthing the RTS genre, plenty can still be done with the property. With the popularity of the recent Dune movie, it seems as though the Sci-Fi franchise is back with a vengeance, and the open-world survival genre is the perfect fit for the series.
An Open-World Survival MMO is the Perfect Fit for Dune
Dune Awakening's announcement trailer showed an older-looking Paul Atreides watch as a Spice harvester was consumed by a gigantic sandworm. As the camera pans around, it's revealed that Paul has piercing blue eyes, an indication that he's been inducted into the Fremen. The trailer then ends with Paul getting prepared to jump on the back of the sandworm, Maker Hooks at the ready. Though the trailer was just CG, it does suggest that players will be dropped onto the sand-filled planet of Arrakis, tasked with avoiding all of its lethal hazards.
The open-world survival genre is the perfect fit for a Dune game. For a start, nearly the entire runtime of the recently released Dune movie is spent exploring the dangers of Arrakis, as is a large portion of the first Dune book. Throughout these, audiences are shown that water management and shelter are key to surviving the planet's otherwise inhabitable environment. These will undoubtedly be core parts of Dune Awakening, with much of the survival game probably requiring players to find water, craft a Stillsuit, make shelters, and sneak around nesting sandworms. Similarly, players will probably need to learn the ways of the Fremen, Arrakis' native people. Players will likely need to use the Fremen's guerilla tactics to gain the upper-hand against enemies and use their survival techniques to use the environment effectively.
The open-world aspect of Dune Awakening also fits perfectly with the Dune franchise, as Arrakis is a massive planet, with plenty of sprawling sand dunes, Fremen settlements, and rock canyons. If the Dune Awakening announcement trailer is anything to go by, then players may be able to ride a sandworm to get across Arrakis' open-world. On top of that, the trailer also hinted at the appearance of Ornithopters, which are the helicopter-like air transports used by the Imperium in Dune, which would also make for an exciting mode of traversal.
While an MMO might not be every Dune fans' pick for a video game genre, it does make quite a bit of sense. The Dune universe has a plethora of different factions, from House Atreides to House Harkonnen, and of course, Arrakis' own Fremen. Dune Awakening could make great use of its MMO component by allowing players to pick their own Dune faction, each one having its own distinct technology and crafting tree, and its own methods of survival.
Dune Awakening is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.