According to Funcom, the upcoming open-world survival MMO Dune Awakening won’t let engaging gameplay overshadow the title’s deep lore. With previews of the game starting to hit the web, longtime fans of the Dune universe and prospective players have cast doubt on everything the title promises—but its creative director Joel Bylos recently sat down with PCGamesN to set the record straight.
“I think Dune has a large audience of core fans because it is such an interesting universe, so my take with the game is always to try and start from the lore,” Bylos said. “It is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time for a reason. Any mechanical decisions we make in the game usually come from a thoughtful and deliberate choice about lore, or when we need to change things and why.”
While it will be possible to play Dune Awakening on your own, the devs are stressing the importance of community.
“We want players to be able to find their friends (or make them) quickly, and the game has a wealth of social interactions outside of the guild system – chat, emotes, proximity voice (with appropriate blocking controls), trading, player hubs, etc,” said Bylos in the interview.
Recently, the Dune franchise has seen a massive resurgence in popular culture, with Dune: Part 2 releasing in theaters on March 1. Funcom’s MMO is set to release at the perfect time if all goes smoothly.
Dune Awakening doesn’t currently have a release date. Players can sign up for a closed beta on Funcom’s official website now.
