By Fresh from a sweeping Chapter 2 patch and upcoming premium expansion, survival MMO Dune: Awakening is stepping past its newborn release stage and finding its footing. With both the experience and its player-base maturing, studio Funcom notes a noticeable rise in enthusiasts who sink deeper into the survival side of play—an area the team is eager to expand.
During Gamescom, GamesRadar+ sat down with Dune: Awakening’s production director, Ole Andreas Hayley, to unpack the current landscape of Arrakis and where it’s headed next, while touching on the quirky blend of genres driving the game.
“The most accurate summary of Dune: Awakening I’ve heard is that it’s a purebred survival RPG wrapped in Dune clothing,” Hayley starts. “The RPG DNA is thick, and the MMO layer exists to give you the sense that this universe breathes, complete with shifting politics, feuds and alliances. Yet what excites us most is how that survival-RPG heart is capturing the imagination of many—doubling down on that direction feels compelling as we look forward.”
Accommodating both lone-wolf wanderers and squad-minded sietches may mean delivering scenarios that reward both solitary grit and collective might. Hayley also spoke about the tightrope between PvE serenity and PvP tension—spotting places where the studio is content to let forged alliances, treachery and roleplay run free, versus moments it must intercede to safeguard the sandbox. The now-infamous ornithopter griefing episode is a good example. Free-form antics can add spice, but at what point do they sour the dish?
“At the heart of it, fairness has to ring true for both the hunter and the prey,” Hayley insists. “If a system exists that greases player conflict, those on the receiving end need viable counter-measures or escape routes. Our job is to craft the tools that enable those moments, then step in only when those tools are missing.”
An MMO is less a single server and more a tapestry of micro-cultures; satisfying both the risk-averse craftsfolk and the thrill-seeking raiders is, Hayley confesses, “a moving target we’re still chasing.”
“Launch day came bundled with several assumptions, and a few of them didn’t land,” he admits. “PvE-minded players felt nudged out because key advancement gates were initially tucked inside PvP zones. We opened more of the Deep Desert for pure PvE, and most recently we’ve seeded starter regions with alternative sources for those highly sought-after crafting mats. Watching this reshuffle take root has been enlightening.”
It’s all about rationing nutrients to both species without letting one gorge itself, Hayley notes. The Deep Desert was engineered “as a free-for-all arena,” and once the resource spread feels right, we can nudge traffic back toward its original purpose. “But before that pendulum swings—or while it’s in motion—we’ll need something tasty for the PvE crowd as well,” he adds.
“This process teaches us daily where the PvE and PvP camps can mingle, where they must diverge, and where they can coexist symbiotically. We once hoped for an economy of mutual dependence—raiders getting minerals with blood, crafters producing and recouping value via the auction house—but we’re still tuning that dial. We’ll keep t