After surprise server shutdown, Dune: Awakening devs squash bug that cost players 1,000-hour bases – and promise "adequate resources and item packages to cover any losses incurred"

Dune: Awakening - two soldiers looking at the mouth of a sandworm during the new game. — (Image credit: Funcom)

It's been a rough few days for the Dune: Awakening community, from a big base-destroying exploit to a subsequent surprise server shutdown from developer Funcom – but, thankfully, it seems like things might be looking up.

Following the recent Chapter 3 update, fans discovered a soul-crushing exploit that allowed players to grief others' bases and raid them for loot. Funcom responded quite quickly, taking action yesterday with a massive server shutdown – one that left folks worried as it was so close to the weekly Deep Desert reset (the Coriolis Storm).

The devs have followed up since, however, with both a reassuring message and a hotfix.

Message regarding the base exploit incident - February 23, 2026 from r/duneawakening

In their announcement, the devs write that they have successfully found the issue that allowed players to destroy bases that weren't theirs in PvE areas, and "have made changes to ensure that this method can no longer be used to bypass standard game mechanics."

The most recent patch notes state as much, too, confirming that today's 1.3.5.1 update has "fixed an issue that allowed players to damage other players' unshielded buildings and placeables."

That's not all, though. Funcom clarifies in its post, "In order to restore most of the damage caused, we will roll back the progress on five worlds: Pax, Epsilon Eridani, Harmony, Arrakis, and Stoneheart, by 24 hours from the moment the servers were brought offline. This will allow us to focus on the worlds most impacted by this exploit while limiting the negative impact on players who have made normal progress."

This means that, now that the servers are back up, the worlds most affected by the exploit have been reversed to an earlier state – and yes, that also does sadly imply that a good few folks will have potentially lost a day's worth of work.

At the least, though, anyone who was a victim of the exploit itself can contact Funcom, which says they'll "be provided with adequate resources and item packages to cover any losses incurred."

As the studio states, the devs will not tolerate exploits – whether this base-destroying one or any other. "We also want to reiterate that exploiting bugs or bypassing standard game mechanics is not permitted in the Dune: Awakening community," writes Funcom. "Players identified to have repeatedly used this exploit will be permanently banned from the game."

And, finally, the cherry on top of the good news cake… That worrying Coriolis Storm? It's no longer happening.

"Lastly, we will disable this week's Coriolis Storm to ensure that players who did not have the opportunity to back up their Deep Desert base can do so safely," as Funcom concludes.

All in all, it's a positive message and a sign that the devs are listening – both to the initial complaints as well as the following concerns regarding the server wipe. It's also nice to know the base destruction won't go without punishment.

I mean, there were actual streamers openly bragging about looting other players' things via the exploit, so, yeah. I'd say the server shutdown, hotfix, and Funcom's response so far have all been very much warranted – and a green flag on the devs' part, too.

Dune: Awakening player proves you can overcome the survival MMO's tricky new testing stations solo – and completely naked: "It is 100% doable."

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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