Dune: Awakening has become Funcom’s fastest-selling game to date.
Dune Awakening has sold over one million copies in the last two weeks, Developer Funcom have confirmed. This announcement was shared by Funcom on the Dune Awakening Steam page.
"Dune: Awakening launched June 10 and 1,000,000 players have awakened!" said the studio. Funcom said that the game is now Funcom’s fast-selling game ever. According to them, “it took Conan Exiles one year to reach this number”.
"Launch has been a Coriolis storm, and we’re still riding that mighty gale. We have seen so many amazing things from all of you — the bases, the close calls with Shai-Hulud, the epic vehicle jumps, the struggles, discoveries, victories, heroic deaths, and so much more... We salute you, Sleepers."
Alongside the announcement, the devs shared an infographic that showed how players have spent their time at Arrakis so far, what resources they’ve consumed, how many times they’ve died and more. Among the Sleepers that have awakened, the distribution of starting mentors were almost equal. 31% have chosen to be Bene Gesserit, while 25% chose Swordmaster. 24% became Troopers and only 20% have Mentat starting mentors.
Other interesting facts include how 816,720 players have experienced deaths to a sandworm, 121,941 guilds have been formed so far, and around 628,807 deaths occurred in the infamous PvP area, the Deep Desert.
Dune: Awakening makes key PvE change to Deep Desert endgame
Speaking of the Deep Desert, it seems like Funcom are planning to tweak the endgame in response to player concerns.
Funcom has announced a major adjustment to Dune: Awakening’s endgame following community concerns raised during a recent AMA. Parts of the Deep Desert, traditionally a PvP-only zone, will soon be reclassified as “Partial Warfare (PvE),” allowing players to explore and gather resources without being forced into combat.
Creative director Joel Bylos shared the news in a developer update, making it clear that the studio wants to ensure endgame content is accessible to players who prefer PvE over PvP. “We want PvE players to be able to play the endgame,” Bylos wrote, stressing that the goal isn’t to funnel players into systems they have no interest in.
The Deep Desert has long been a sticking point for the community. While it remains a core pillar of Dune: Awakening’s high-stakes design philosophy, its unforgiving competitive environment has discouraged less combat-focused players from participating in late-game progression. This update seeks to bridge that gap.
In the revised design, certain areas will now allow PvE exploration, giving players the chance to interact with testing stations and gather Tier 6 resources in relative safety. However, not everything is changing. Landsraad control points, shipwrecks, and major spice fields will still be flagged for PvP under the “War of Assassins” ruleset, and the most dangerous zones remain untouched.
Bylos noted that while these new safe zones provide more opportunities for players to engage, solo players may still find the endgame grind heavy due to its group-based balancing.
The update has sparked a mix of reactions in the community. Many players have welcomed the change as a fair compromise that broadens access without eliminating the risk-reward appeal of the Deep Desert. Others, particularly from the PvP community, worry that introducing safe zones will dilute the area’s tension and intensity.
Still, for a game trying to cater to multiple playstyles in one of science fiction’s harshest universes, the move may be a step towards building a more inclusive and sustainable endgame experience.
