By Dune: Awakening saw a resurgence in late 2026 after releasing its massive update that instantly boosted the game’s player count.
Right now, Dune: Awakening is sitting at a decent 9,600+ daily active players, and for a survival game that shifted from its MMO approach to single-player, it’s quite a big achievement.
The developers seem to be excited about this change and have shared their upcoming plans for the game.
And it looks like 2027 is going to be packed with new content and updates for the game.
Free Massive Expansion
To get things started, the devs are releasing their massive Blood and Ice expansion for free in December 2026. That will surely bring in more new and veteran players back to the game.
This expansion introduces a brand new region that completely shifts the survival elements in Dune Awakening.
In this region, you have to survive an extremely cold environment, which is the opposite of the scorching hot desert environments we’ve been surviving in so far.
As I’m currently reading through the Dune books, I’m beyond excited for this new expansion and to get addicted to the game again.
And I’m also excited for the new approach the developers are implementing for delivering content for the game.
Cosmetics Cash Shop
Funcom wants to continue releasing big expansions, updates, and events for Dune: Awakening in 2027 for free. To do this, they obviously need to make money somehow.
So the developers are introducing a new cosmetic shop to Dune: Awakening in the December 2026 update.
This cash shop will feature various cosmetic items, including apparel and base blueprints, that you can purchase with real money. At first, these items will be available on rotation. Starting with a new item set inspired by the Dune: Part 3 movie.
These items will only be available for a limited time. However, once the shop is populated with enough items, players will be able to buy all the previously released items from the shop anytime they want.
Now, I know how introducing a cash shop can seem like a bad thing for a game. Usually, they start with just cosmetics and then slowly venture into pay-to-win items. And I really hope Funcom won’t follow that same trajectory.
Given the success of Funcom’s other titles like Conan Exiles, I kind of expected a cosmetics shop for Dune: Awakening. And I’m okay with it as long as the devs keep their promise.
2027 Plans
In January 2027, Dune: Awakening is getting full-on cross-play. This will allow you to play the game with players across PC and console platforms.
Character copying is also coming to Dune: Awakening in the same month. You will finally be able to copy your characters from multiplayer servers to single-player environments with this feature, and vice versa.
More new locations, mechanics, and brand-new events are coming to Dune: Awakening in 2027. The developers say they have ambitious plans for the game and promise to share more details when they’re ready.
Dune: Awakening is shaping up to be one of the best survival games available right now. And I can’t wait to see where it’s headed in 2027.
