Hero image: Dune: Awakening console launch art. Image: Funcom, via PlayStation Australia
Dune: Awakening arrives on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S tonight, and it brings a full single-player mode with it. If the MMO servers were the reason you stayed away from Arrakis, that reason is gone.
The PlayStation Store lists the console release at 10pm AEST tonight, 22 September. If you pre-ordered the Deluxe or Ultimate Edition, you have been playing since the 17th.
The headline is solo play. Funcom’s launch FAQ confirms you can play the whole game alone: the open world, the story and the Deep Desert. You get three preset difficulty levels, and you can hand-tune the survival settings on top of that.
Single-player has no PvP at all. In multiplayer, PvP is now optional everywhere, the Deep Desert included. You can run the Landsraad faction conflict in PvE if you would rather fight sandworms than strangers.
What you are actually getting tonight
The final chapter of the Book One story lands today, so all five acts are playable from start to finish. That applies on PC too. PC players get the same update on the same day, included in the base game.
The Filmic Archive DLC also launches alongside the console versions. It is cosmetic: outfits and building pieces modelled on Denis Villeneuve’s two films.
On Xbox, it is on Game Pass from day one and supports Xbox Play Anywhere, with crossplay between Xbox and the Windows PC Store version. Wider crossplay with Steam has not been confirmed for launch, so check before you promise a PC mate a shared server.
On PS5, you do not need PS Plus to play single-player. You do need it for online play.
What it costs here
Digital on the PlayStation Store is $75.95 for Standard, $105.95 for Deluxe and $135.95 for Ultimate. The Xbox Store is a dollar cheaper at each tier: $74.95, $104.95 and $134.95.
Physical is PS5-only. There is no Xbox disc. When Maxi-Geek checked local retailers, EB Games had it at $89.95, JB Hi-Fi at $89.00 and The Gamesmen at $84.95. Prices move, so check before you buy.
It is rated MA15+ in Australia for online interactivity and chat, and strong drug references. It is Dune. The spice was always going to come up.
Should you jump in now?
If you are on Xbox with Game Pass, there is no reason to wait. Download it tonight.
If you are paying full price, the solo mode is the part that changes the maths. You are no longer buying access to someone else’s server population. You are buying the whole game, on your terms, at a difficulty you set.
Source: Level Infinite / Funcom, PlayStation Australia, Maxi-Geek, Scribbling Geek