Dune: Awakening, the open-world survival MMORPG set in the iconicDuneuniverse and developed by Funcom, is doing numbers for the studio. Since its release on June 10, it’s welcomed over one million players to Arrakis, and already ranks as Funcom’s fastest-selling game ever. While the response has been largely positive, it isn’t without flaws.
One such issue, at least for PvE-minded players, is the game’s endgame. InDune: Awakening, endgame content revolves around the Deep Desert, a high-stakes, high-reward region described by the developers as “an endlessly renewing location that resets every week and creates an activity loop for great rewards.” It’s the most dangerous area on the most dangerous planet in the universe, and fittingly, PvP is (or was) enabled by default.
Here’s the problem:Dune: Awakeningwas never marketed as a PvP-exclusive experience. In fact, PvP was explicitly described as optional. But at launch, the Deep Desert went against that philosophy. If you wanted the best resources, you had to fight for them—whether you wanted to or not.
Funcom originally hoped the player base would embrace the challenge. That didn’t happen. Players who had no interest in PvP felt forced into contested zones just to keep up with those who did. Understandably, they pushed back.
Recently, Funcom responded to the backlash. In a public update, the team acknowledged the issue and laid out their plans to fix it. Most notably, some areas of the Deep Desert will now be sectioned off into “Partial Warfare” zones, where PvP is disabled. The high-risk PvP areas will remain, but players who prefer to avoid conflict can now gather top-tier resources at a slower pace with less risk. Funcom also assured players that more PvE content and endgame activities are on the way, so heading into the Deep Desert will just be one of many viable options.
It’s not the only wayOSRShas addressed this dilemma, but one particularly relevant example mirrorsDune: Awakening’ssolution. InOSRS, players can gain Prayer XP by burying bones. There’s a chaos altar deep in the Wilderness where bones yield bonus XP and sometimes aren’t consumed at all. It’s an enticing option—if you’re willing to take the risk. PvP players regularly camp near the altar, hoping to ambush PvEers looking for faster progression. So players face a real choice: take the safe route for slower gains, or risk the Wilderness for better rewards. It’s a dynamic thatDune: Awakeningis now replicating.
OSRSmay be the strongest case study, but it’s far from alone.Sea of Thievessparked years of debate by refusing to offer PvE-only servers. Eventually, Rare introduced Safer Seas, a private mode without rival crews roaming the seas. Meanwhile,World of Warcraftsidesteps the issue by giving out PvP gear for PvP content and PvE gear for PvE activities.
WithDune: Awakening, it’s encouraging to see a developer respond to player feedback so quickly. Even better, it seems like they’re applying lessons from games that have already wrestled with this exact issue. Together, these moves inspire confidence that Funcom can deliver an experience that’s enjoyable for both its PvP and PvE-focused players.
