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After a long, long wait, Dune: Awakening finally launches in full on May 20. Funcom has just offered some concrete details on what the survival MMO's release will look like, and in short, you can expect a proper 1.0 launch without early access, and a single purchase price of $50 without any additional subscription fees.
"The key things that you need to know about Dune: Awakening’s launch are that it will not launch in early access, and it will not have a monthly subscription," creative director Joel Bylos says in a video breaking down the game's business model. "It will receive regular free updates, including new content, new features, and quality of life improvements. And in addition to these free updates, we will offer optional DLC."
Major free updates will expand the story while "adding new content and features," and each of these updates will also be accompanied by a paid DLC pack. Prices on those haven't been confirmed yet, but the Dune: Awakening Deluxe Edition, which includes a season pass promising four DLC packs alongside some other bonuses, is priced at $70, or $20 more than the base game.
Both the Deluxe and Ultimate Edition include early access to the game – you know, the other kind of early access, where you get to play the game five days early. Bylos notes that this "also helps us to make sure that we can balance the server load as people come into the game through launch for the best possible experience."
Funcom's previous survival game, Conan Exiles, spent a year in proper early access before its launch in 2018, but Dune: Awakening won't be following that pattern. However, in a Steam blog, Funcom brings up Exiles to note that it's "still in active development and being updated after eight years of DLCs, expansions, and countless free updates," and says "Dune: Awakening will be no different."
