It seems dataminers may have discovered the first game confirmed for Nintendo’s next console.
As found on reddit, a VFX artist at Funcom named Taku Wanifuchi shared a current job for upcoming strategy game Dune Awakening.
Here’s what the listing says:
“Dune Awakening | VFX Artist
Funcom
apr. 2020 – (3 years and 1 month)
Oslo, Norway
Dune Awakening(PC, PS5, XBS1, TBA)
• Providing VFX for open world survival MMO game
• Houdini/Redshift/Embergen/Unreal/Niagara workflow
• R&D, plugins investigation”
The key detail here is the list of platforms that Dune Awakening will be releasing on. So far, Funcom has only confirmed that the game would be releasing on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. While we know that the game will be multiplatform, Funcom has not announced or confirmed that it would be coming to the Nintendo Switch.
So, there is a very real possibility that this ‘TBA’ platform is the next Nintendo console after the Nintendo Switch. As Wanifuchi’s listing indicates, he has been working on this game for over three years. While three to five years is a reasonable amount of time for production on a game nowadays, it can also indicate something else.
In particular, that timeframe could reflect time spent mastering newer platforms. Of course, we know that that would be true for Funcom to figure out the ins and outs of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Most of the games that were released on both platforms so far definitely started development before they were both announced.
However, this could also be the case if this game is in development for Nintendo’s next console. If Funcom never announced that Dune Awakening would be releasing on the Nintendo Switch, that seems to be a confirmation that the Switch hardware would not be capable of running the game.
Of course, we already know that the Nvidia custom chip in the Switch has proven doubters wrong on the console, as seemingly impossible ports of modern games like Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice and Doom Eternal have come up on the console.
But, if a newer platform is available for these newer games, that would be easier to program for thanks to higher spec hardware, wouldn’t it make more sense to port the game there instead?
Dune Awakening was first revealed last year. It’s been described as an world, survival MMO, set in the sandy beaches of Arrakis. Developer Funcom was previously known for having produced Conan Exiles, and they do have their following, so there will definitely be fans looking forward to this game.
It would certainly be interesting if this was the way we found out that Funcom made their first game for Nintendo, and to get it confirmed a few months or even years later after this. For now, we can only mark this as speculation.
