Dune: Awakening shows off alpha gameplay

Arrakis means business.

Funcom did not have a release date for Dune: Awakening, which is planned to be launched on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, at the PC Gaming Show 2023, but the company showed off some alpha footage during an interview segment, which detailed the core principles of the title.

The MMO featuring an open-world version of Arrakis is heavily focusing on survival and crafting, which seems pretty apt for one of the deadliest planets in the known universe.

Surviving an ever-changing desert planet and building up a sustainable base is one thing, defending it against other adventurers is something else entirely – Dune: Awakening offers combat from the third-person perspective, promising organically developing fights from small-scale ambushes to epic battles with infantry, ground vehicles, and flying machines like the iconic ornithopter.

Granted, there is a lot to fight over on Arrakis: strategic locations, sources of water, and – the most important of all – sources of spice. Harvesting this valuable resource and selling it is the key to prosperity and power, for it will allow you and your guild to ascend in the ranks and even become a House Minor, which might ally itself with one of the big players in the empire.

Equipment, armor, weapons, and vehicles are supposed to be craftable and there is a bit of an economy management aspect in the game as well, since getting an effective spice harvesting operation up and running will be one of your greatest goals.

You can check out the Dune: Awakening interview and alpha footage below:

Just be careful not to cause too many vibrations when you’re outside of the safe rocky ground – Arrakis’ giant sandworms are never far and won’t say no to an easy meal.

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