Just twenty days ago, critics wrote it off as dead on arrival, but Dune: Awakening’s open-world MMO has exploded on Steam, pulling in nearly 200,000 players and earning a wave of positive reviews right out of the gate.

Whenever a new MMO launches, it’s a big deal—especially when it’s from the makers of Conan Exiles and taps into Frank Herbert’s legendary universe, newly revitalized by the last two blockbuster movies. Dune: Awakening debuted on Steam to a wave of positivity: Funcom’s new title quickly crossed the 100,000-player mark, and with community enthusiasm running high, the developers wasted no time confirming console versions are in the works.

Skepticism ran high from the start. Longtime fans expected a classic story-driven game and worried the survival mechanics would miss the essence of Dune—concerns only fueled when streamers declared, just twenty days before launch, that the entire combat system “needed a complete overhaul.” Against the odds, the Norwegian studio has delivered a sprawling open world that hooked the Steam community, even if technical issues like server connection hiccups appeared early on.

Rather than rehashing Herbert’s original story, Dune: Awakening hands players the keys to their own journey across the deserts of Arrakis. Set in an alternate universe, the game focuses on gathering resources, base building, piloting ornithopters, and large-scale PvP battles—mainly vehicle-based—all of which have become key hooks for the community. Even so, players are still clamoring for more on-foot combat and deeper single-player content.

Dune: Awakening Hits Nearly 200,000 PC Players Already

The numbers tell the story: While Conan Exiles peaked at 58,000 concurrent users, Dune: Awakening nearly tripled that. As tracked by SteamDB, the game has seen 189,333 active players so far, and even though numbers dip on weekdays, there are still 69,456 people online right now—a staggering feat.

The endgame content is a little thin, and single-player narrative fans may be left wanting, but the game’s just getting started. More importantly, Funcom has officially confirmed that Dune: Awakening is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2026.

Source: 3djuegos