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  1. Games
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  3. Dune: Awakening

After months of closed betas, Dune: Awakening is launching a "large-scale beta weekend" with 20 hours of content from the survival MMO

News
By Dustin Bailey published 25 April 2025

The devs will give out "tens of thousands" of beta keys this time around

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Dune Awakening
(Image credit: Funcom)
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After months of closed betas tied up in NDAs, Dune: Awakening developer Funcom is getting set for a much bigger beta weekend in May, promising "tens of thousands" of players early access to a substantial chunk of the survival MMO.

"From May 9 until May 12, the largest Beta yet will take place, with a huge number of new players joining compared to previous closed Betas," the devs say in a press release. "Players can get a taste of both spice and story in the large-scale Beta weekend, featuring the first 20 hours of the game and most of Act 1 of the story."

You can request access to the playtest on Steam, and it looks like the devs aren't kidding about this being "large-scale." In addition to the early Steam invites, Funcom will also give out "tens of thousands" of beta keys during a Twitch stream on May 10.

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  • Dune: Awakening - two soldiers looking at the mouth of a sandworm during the new game. Dune: Awakening Chapter 3 is the survival MMO's biggest, with a rebuilt Landsraad, new specialization system, and more
  • The custom created character in Dune Awakening Dune: Awakening devs don't expect to "keep launch player numbers" after Steam count hit 189,000 then ran off a cliff
  • A screenshot shows a Dune: Awakening character posing with a knife Dune: Awakening Chapter 3 promises "better endgame" that makes it easier for lapsed players to return by abolishing tax

"Unlike previous Betas," the devs add, "this one has no NDA, meaning all information is open to share, and the game can be streamed for all to see."

Dune: Awakening — Story Trailer - YouTube Dune: Awakening — Story Trailer - YouTube
Watch On

Alongside today's news, we also have a new story trailer that offers a taste of the game's plot. While this is a survival MMO through and through, it looks like we'll have a fair bit of Dune political intrigue to guide the gameplay, too.

Dune: Awakening was previously scheduled to launch on May 20, but suffered a last-minute delay to June 10 – though certain editions of the game will let you play as early as June 5.

Dune Awakening launches for $50 without a stay in early access, and while the survival MMO "will not have a monthly subscription," it will have "optional" paid DLC.

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Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

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