Dune: Awakening hit a whopping 142,050 concurrent players on Steam shortly after its full release on 10 June 2025. Despite the Head Start participants having access since 5 June, the official launch welcomed a whole new adventurer to Arrakis’ deserts. The game achieved impressive success, becoming the ninth most played game on Steam in just 24 hours.
Many expect the player count to keep going up with the first weekend approaching. The momentum so far seems to suggest that even higher peaks are to come as the player base grows and more gamers find themselves in the harsh survival experience set in the desert.
The console version will be released in 2026. The PC players are already traversing the perilous sand dunes. Developer Funcom previously confirmed that console versions of Dune: Awakening won’t arrive until some point in 2026. There’s no specific date, but it appears the team is working to get the PC version in a good place first before working on consoles.
Players Discover Unexpected Sandworm Rides
While it wasn’t explicitly a part of the feature list, players are riding the sandworms of Arrakis nonetheless. Discovered by many players, this has added a layer of emergent gameplay and a thrill for players willing to experiment. Even though it’s not official, the community has taken a liking to the moment – another thing to add to it.
Early Impressions Point to Massive Scope
My first thoughts of Dune: Awakening is that it is a layered survival MMO that’s vast. One reviewer mentioned that after more than 35 hours played, they still feel like they’re just getting started in the game. They told us they had lots of areas they hadn’t explored yet, not far in the main story, and a handful of PvP fights. There’s so much left to go that we should have an update on the full experience later in the week.
Tools to Survive the Desert
Those new to Arrakis will find several guides available to ease one’s experience. A collection of these items has been useful in locating aluminium, steel and iron. Players can also check out the class overview to determine the best options based on the way they play. A full walkthrough is currently being created, exposing all the major systems of play and the entire main story.