The open-world survival crafting game “Dune: Awakening” recently announced that its player count has surpassed the 1 million mark, making it the fastest-selling title in developer Funcom’s history. Adapted from the classic novel and Hollywood film series “Dune,” the game launched on Steam on June 10 and reached this milestone in less than a month, also setting a peak concurrent player count of 189,000.
Set in a unique parallel universe, the game follows Duke Leto Atreides who survives an attack and leads his family in a battle against House Harkonnen for control of the spice. Players take on the role of prisoners exiled to the planet Arrakis, investigating the mysterious disappearance of the Fremen people. Official player data reveals that over 120 million building parts have been used, 517,000 flying vehicles crafted, and 6.11 billion grams of spice collected. The harsh survival challenges are highlighted by 66,000 players lost to sandstorms, 816,000 killed by sandworms, and 628,000 perishing in the deep desert.
Regarding endgame content, Creative Director Joel Bylos revealed that a major update is in development. To enhance the PvE experience, a new “Localized War” PvE zone will be introduced in the dangerous deep desert area. This zone will feature special rules allowing players to safely gather high-tier resources, complete raid missions, and explore T6 resource points and testing stations. Meanwhile, existing PvP hotspots like spice blow sites, crashed ship locations, and the Lansraad control zone will remain to satisfy players who enjoy conflict.
For PvP balance, the development team is focusing on adjusting the scout ornithopter’s performance: reducing the maneuverability of rocket-equipped models, increasing rocket heat generation, and making the thruster model the fastest flying vehicle in the game. A new T5 infantry rocket launcher will also be introduced to strengthen ground-to-air combat. Other PvP updates include tweaks to respawn timers, vehicle storage tools, and handheld scanners to curb system abuse and improve small-scale combat.
Funcom promises ongoing expansions for “Dune: Awakening” with both free and paid DLCs planned. Players can follow official development logs for more details. For comparison, Funcom’s previous title “Conan Exiles” took a full year to reach one million players, whereas “Dune: Awakening” achieved this in under a month.
