"We want to stay true to Dune": After the dragon flamethrower ruffled some feathers, Dune: Awakening producer promises fans "you won't be running around in pink pool floaties"

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Just like Battlefield 6, there will be no silly skins here

Key art for Dune Awakening showing the major characters in front of sand dunes, military bases, and a sand worm
(Image credit: Funcom)

Look, I enjoy making Sabrina Carpenter hit the Griddy in Fortnite as much as any 12-year-old does, but I don't want that kind of silliness in every single game I play. Funcom came under fire for including a dragon flamethrower skin in Dune: Awakening – one I actually think looks pretty cool – and it prompted a wider discussion about the aesthetic future of the game. Don't worry, things are going to stay true to the Dune universe.

"Yeah, that's a misstep on our part," Scott Junior, chief product officer and executive producer at Funcom, says to TheGamer when asked about the flamethrower. "Out of context, it doesn't look good. People will need to play The Lost Harvest, and they'll see what we're doing and why we've added this item."

One developer has already said, "you'll (potentially) be more understanding of its place once you see the context" of it in-game. Still, it's easy to see why people are worried about more grounded games opting to ape Fortnite, just like Call of Duty did. Even Battlefield 6 confirmed it will be avoiding that – for the moment, at least.

"Don’t worry," Junior reiterates, "you're not going to see ponies running around and you won't be running around in pink pool floaties. We promise that." I wouldn't mind those chairdogs, though, Junior, if you could get those added soon.

Issy van der Velde
Issy van der Velde
Contributor

I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.

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