Apart from dodging sandworms and clinging onto every drop of water, Dune Awakening has other threats on the horizon. Whether you’ve recently seen Dune 2 or read the books, you’ll know that the Harkonnen’s aren’t to be messed with. We don’t want to end up in the bad books of the Fremen, either. However, they aren’t the only familiar faces you’ll meet in the PS5 and Xbox MMORPG, as developer Funcom teases post-launch content.
In a recent interview with Eurogamer, creative director Joel Bylos dives into how the upcoming multiplayer game will carve its own niche in Dune lore. Seeking permission from the family of late Dune author Frank Herbet, Byblos explains that “things are slightly different in our universe […] it’s just a few years back. But the significant thing, it’s really close to spoiler territory, which I can’t really go through.”
That element in question is embracing aspects of becoming a God-like figure akin to Paul Atreides, who may or may not appear in the Dune Awakening. Bylos doesn’t go any further than a simple “no comment” on that front, but does drip-feed information about what other factions are out there on Arrakis. Factions are integral to forming a guild, which allows you access to certain benefits in the new PS5 game and new Xbox game. “There’s a third faction that’d like to get in […] but that probably won’t come until post-launch,” Bylos says.
Currently, the player can choose between Harkonnen and Arrakis. As always with Dune lore, there isn’t really a clear ‘good guy’ to root for, so you’ll be left to your own devices with this one. However, the Harkonnen are pretty damn intimidating, so we wouldn’t be surprised if you were swayed to align with them. But who could this third faction be? We already know that players can learn abilities through the Bene Gesserit, a secretive sisterhood that rigorously trains students to harness abilities beyond mere mortal comprehension.
Our guess would be that it could be the Ixians or Bene Tleilax. With Dune Awakening reshaping Dune lore, there is creative license to change when these factions appear in the universe, and the Ixians seem like a strong candidate. This faction is known for conjuring all manner of advanced technology, including the no-chamber, a device that can hide anything inside it from radars and long-range detectors.
There’s potential for Dune Awakening to become one of the best PS5 games of the year, especially if it can find a happy medium between the fantastic Denis Villeneuve movies and Frank Herbert’s meticulous writing. Either way, we’ll be waiting for the Dune Awakening release date to find out.
Elsewhere in gaming news, Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League has a major discount right now, and MultiVersus is teasing a grand return to PS5 and Xbox.