The first shots of the untitled Funcom unveiled the Dune survival game in late 2021, approximately two years after the Norwegian publisher acquired the rights to the world-famous sci-fi property. Given Funcom's pedigree with other licensed properties such as Conan the Barbarian, it seems as though Dune is in good hands.
This doesn't constitute the developer/publisher's first go at the Dune brand, either. Funcom also serves as the publisher on Shiro Games' Dune: Spice Wars, a real-time strategy experience with 4X elements. Notably, Spice Wars entered Steam Early Access a couple of weeks ago on April 26, inviting PC players to take part in controlling a faction and dominating the planet of Arrakis in the much-beloved Frank Herbert universe. It's clear that Funcom's plans for the future of Dune-branded interactive experiences stretch far and wide. And the well-received Dune: Spice Wars marks only the beginning of said plans.
A new Dune-dedicated Funcom webpage has officially gone live online, complete with the following tagline - "Dune is calling." Akin to countless other websites for work-in-progress games, much of the space is devoted to career opportunities on the development team. At present, Funcom has positions open for roles such as Lead Concept Artist, Community Developer, and World Director. Most interesting, however, are the few pieces of art that also occupy the all-new webpage. One conceptual art piece, shown in the featured image, depicts a ship in a desert hangar. Another image depicts an armored character surrounded by fog and looking out over a rocky wasteland. The final image, though laden with the aforementioned hiring details, features an unidentified male character wielding a weapon.
As far as Dune video game adaptations go, this unnamed project sounds good on paper. The first-look art pieces suggest that Funcom has a full grasp on the tone and atmosphere of the fictional universe, too. Unfortunately, there still exists no concrete details on what exactly the survival action game will entail. And since the game likely remains in the nascent phases of production, the wait to learn more could last for quite some time.
After years of gathering dust in many respects, the Dune IP has undergone an impressive renaissance in the past year or so. The Denis Villeneuve-directed film adaptation that hit theaters in October 2021 reignited interest in the groundbreaking sci-fi property. Evidently, video games are all-in on taking another stab at the universe, as well.
Source: Funcom
