Dune: Awakening Will Be Missing an Important Feature at Launch

Highlights

• Funcom confirmed sandworm riding will not be in Dune: Awakening at launch, but will be added in a future update.
• The game will focus on survival gameplay, with features like drinking enemy blood for hydration and avoiding sandworm threats.
• Legendary Pictures asked Funcom to save Fremen culture details for post-release updates to align with the Dune movie sequel.

Developer Funcom has stated that Dune: Awakening will not feature sandworm riding at launch, but it will be added as part of a future update. Although Dune: Awakening is still without a release date, its recent showcase generated plenty of excitement among fans.

Earlier in March, Funcom showed off Dune: Awakening by revealing details about its base building, combat, and Arrakis setting. As most probably expected, the game features sandworms quite heavily, which are automatically drawn to the player after walking on sand without using counters like the Thumper. Many probably hoped for Dune: Awakening to feature sandworm riding as well, but Funcom confirmed at the previous showcase that this would not be included at launch. Now, the developer has provided the reason for the initial lack of this feature.

As reported by TheGamer, Funcom was instructed by Legendary Pictures to not feature the Fremen culture too heavily, as Dune: Awakening was originally set to release before the debut of Dune: Part Two. In case some fans aren’t familiar, the second movie features the Fremen much more heavily, while they remain somewhat mysterious in the first one. It seems that Legendary Pictures wanted to save the most exciting aspects of the Fremen, like sandworm riding, for the movie. While this plan didn’t work out due to the game’s launch date being pushed well beyond Dune: Part Two‘s release, Funcom confirmed that sandworm riding and other Fremen-related additions will be seen in a post-launch update.

Dune: Awakening Will Not Have Sandworm Riding At Launch

Players can still take part in certain Fremen practices at launch, like drinking the blood of fallen Dune Awakening enemies to stay hydrated. Hydration plays a major role in Dune: Awakening‘s survival gameplay, as the brutal heat of Arrakis encourages users to remain in the shade by day and travel by night. To counter dehydration, users can harvest water from dew fields or plant matter, in addition to the previously mentioned method.

Funcom shared plenty more details on Dune: Awakening‘s sandworms. The giant worms are an ever-present threat and come in multiple tiers. The deep desert harbors the most lethal ones, although all sandworms pose a serious risk, which are meant to be avoided rather than defeated.

Based on the trailer and Dune: Awakening‘s use of Unreal Engine 5, the sandworm pursuits are probably going to create some visceral moments for gamers. Funcom’s Joel Bylos explained that the studio chose Unreal Engine 5 for its graphical fidelity and flexibility, and was even used by cinematographer Greg Fraser to help plan some of the movie’s more complex scenes.