Dune Awakening’s Refreshing Approach to Monetization Appeals to Those Who Remember Subscription Fees

Dune Awakening enthusiasts got a fresh update today, thanks to Funcom detailing their plans post-launch. Alongside this, PC specifications have also been laid out on the game’s Steam store page.

In a brief video, Joel Byros, Funcom’s chief creative officer, walks us through what’s in store for the game after it hits the shelves on May 20 later this year. Unlike many other MMOs, Byros confirms that Dune Awakening won’t require a subscription. Instead, the game will thrive on optional paid DLCs and free updates.

These free updates will be packed with all sorts of enhancements, including quality of life improvements, new features, exciting story additions, plus more—all the essentials to keep a live service game fresh and engaging. While specifics about the paid DLCs remain under wraps, what we do know is they’ll be available for individual purchase or bundled in a season pass for a packaged deal.

Byros also mentioned an interesting perk available to purchasers of certain game editions: an opportunity to jump into Dune Awakening early on May 15. This early access isn’t just for bragging rights—it also helps balance server loads for a smooth launch experience. After all, nothing can be more damaging to an MMO than server issues on day one.

Accompanying the video, a post on Steam reveals both minimum and recommended PC specs:

Minimum Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (or newer)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-7400, AMD Ryzen 3 1200
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB), AMD Radeon 5600XT (6GB)
• Storage: 60 GB available space

Recommended Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (or newer)
• Processor: Intel Core i7-10700K, AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (8GB), AMD Radeon 6700XT (12GB)
• Storage: 75 GB available space

Moreover, the post highlights some exciting PC-specific features, such as NVIDIA’s DLSS 4, AMD’s FSR, Intel’s XeSS 2, and compatibility with Razer Chroma RGB and Razer Sensa HD Haptics. For PC gamers looking to enhance their experience, these tools should be quite a treat.

How do you feel about this business model? Personally, with the sheer number of subscriptions out there, I appreciate a game I can buy once and revisit at my leisure—it reminds me of why I occasionally dive back into Guild Wars 2. So, I’m all for it. And apparently, there’s more news coming our way, with a gameplay stream planned for March 24 as hinted in the Steam blog post.

So, will you be venturing into the sands of Dune Awakening come May 20, or perhaps even earlier? Let us know below!