Dune has a long history in the world of video games, dating back to the early ’90s on DOS computers and the Amiga. Dune: Spice Wars hopes to play to that long legacy and attract fans of recent film adaption on April 26 when it launches into early access on Steam.
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Developed by Shiro Games (Northgard) and published by Funcom, Spice Wars is a strategy game that blends real-time and 4X elements into something wholly original. Players can choose to take control of the Fremen, Atreides, Harkonnen, or Smugglers and do battle across Dune‘s iconic desert worlds. The Fremen were only recently revealed as a playable faction. They can more easily withstand the desert, are less likely to attract sandworms, and can ally with neutral native settlements called Sietches with more ease, making them a faction that’s more naturally in tune with the planet.
On the game’s official Steam page, Shiro Games estimates that Dune: Spice Wars will be in early access from nine to 12 months and that it will change significantly over the course of the development thanks to player feedback. At launch, only single-player options will be available, but multiplayer capabilities will come to the game before its full release. It’s also only still slated for PC.
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In addition to Spice Wars, publisher Funcom also reminded Dune fans that it is currently working on an open-world survival game in the vein of Ark: Survival Evolved that’s set in the same universe. The publisher is the exclusive rights holder to Dune when it comes to games, and it seems to be betting big on a franchise that back in the popular consciousness.