Dune: Awakening’s “early 2025” release date is looser than you might think

I went to see Funcom’s survival MMO Dune: Awakening last week and one thing I expected while there was a specific release date. The game has an “early 2025” date, currently, which is the time period we’re in. So a major press event held within that period of time would be a perfect place to make a release announcement. But no such announcement was made.

It raised questions about how near to release Dune: Awakening actually is. I put these questions to the game’s executive producer Scott Junior, and his reply feels like a much more accurate estimation of when to expect it. “I guess it depends how you define early,” Junior said. “It could be the first half of ’25 – that could be ‘early’. So I’ll leave it there. It could be the first half of 2025.”

Incidentally, Junior’s referring to a PC (Steam) release. Console versions are part of the plan but they’re coming later at an unspecified date. Also, in case there’s any confusion, that’s a full 1.0 release – there’s no early access. The game has been in closed beta testing already for about a year.

Another question mark surrounds the game’s business model, which again, Funcom hasn’t announced. Naturally, there are assumptions of free-to-play and battle pass monetisation methods – Funcom having used an in-game shop in Conan Exiles – but I saw no evidence of a shop in the Dune: Awakening build I played at all.

Again, I put this to Junior. “We will announce our monetisation strategy a little bit closer to launch,” he said. “There will not be any subscription, though – I can say that.” He was also happy to clarify, “It will not be free-to-play.” Chances are Dune: Awakening will be a premium-priced game.

Dune: Awakening is a significant bet for Funcom. It’s been in development for five years and more than 400 people have worked on it. It’s the studio’s biggest ever game, Junior said – bigger than The Secret World and Age of Conan, and an order of magnitude larger than the 30-person team that turned the company’s ailing fortunes around with Conan Exiles in 2017. Will it work?

I was impressed by what I played. Dune: Awakening is what a lot of MMOs aren’t, necessarily, and that’s interesting – conceptually interesting. In bringing survival concepts into a persistent, massively-multiplayer space, Funcom has made something that feels subtly but fundamentally new. It’s also the closest recreation we’ll get of the filmic world of Dune that’s so popular right now. Check out my full Dune: Awakening preview to find out more.