Dune: Awakening devs realize that most players don't want PvP

2 hours ago 2

Published Apr 10, 2026, 1:42 PM EDT

PvP 'must be optional and incentivized rather than required,' Funcom says

The developer behind the Dune online multiplayer survival game Dune: Awakening says it's dialing back the player-versus-player content in the game for a very good reason: Only about 20% of the game's players ever really engaged with it, perhaps at the expense of everyone else. That's why Funcom is pivoting to be "PvE-first" with its open-world survival game, according to an update posted to the Dune: Awakening store page on Steam.

Funcom noted that "with over 80% of our lifetime players exclusively engaging with PvE content, the convergence of PvE and PvP, particularly in the Deep Desert, didn’t align with our objectives and remained a significant topic of discussion." Thus, the studio is rethinking its approach to Dune: Awakening's design and "underlin[ing] the PvE-first nature of the game." PvP conflict is regarded as an important activity for some players, but "it must be optional and incentivized rather than required for progression."

As of patch 1.3.20.0, that will mean the following changes to Dune: Awakening, according to Funcom:

All PvP zones in Hagga Basin will be disabled across all official Worlds.

All official Worlds will have separate Deep Desert instances you can choose from:

• A PvE instance for pure survival and exploration experience with no player combat. There is no PvP in this instance across any of the rows, including Shipwrecks.

• A PvP instance with the classic high-stakes environment and open-world conflict across rows B through I. To make sure the rewards match the risk, the yield from mining and spice harvesting will be multiplied by 2.5 in PvP areas.

So far, the response from Dune: Awakening players to the upcoming PvP changes has been positive. Many say they've been asking for less emphasis on PvP since the game's beta, while others say they don't engage with PvP due to glitches and cheating — a problem certainly not unique to Dune: Awakening.

But for the players who may have given up on Dune: Awakening due to PvP requirements, you may want to give the survival game another shot — especially with the world about to experience a resurgence in Dune fever.

Dune: Awakening is currently available on Windows PC. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions are planned for release later this year.