This has been an extremely exciting month, to say the least! No more speculation or wonder, we have a release date! That’s right, Dune: Awakening is coming to a PC near you on May 20th, 2025. We are so excited to finally show off what we’ve been working on! You have until then to check out the character creator on Steam, test your hardware in the Benchmark Mode, and of course practice your water discipline.
The release date isn’t the only thing to be excited about though; we have all sorts of other announcements and reveals that we’ll go over in our roundup to make sure you didn’t miss a thing. In this issue we are also highlighting the carrier ornithopter, showing off beautiful art from the community, and answering some of your burning questions.
Get a head start in your journey to Arrakis by figuring out one of life’s most important questions: Who are you? Were you born in the tundras of Ix? Or the valleys of Chusuk? What about your mentor, who taught you the ways of being a Swordmaster or Bene Gesserit?
You can decide these for yourself now by downloading the character creator on Steam! Besides your background, you can also adjust the physical appearance of your ideal character. If you need some inspiration, here’s a couple Sleepers shared in our official Discord!
And if you need even MORE inspiration, you’ll get a redeemable code for the exclusive Frameblade knife skin by completing your character. You can use this code when the game launches on May 20th. By downloading the Character Creator, you’ll also have access to the Benchmark Mode; this will analyze your PC hardware and test performance.
We’ve also announced that the base game is priced at $49.99/€49.99, with pre-orders starting soon. If you pre-order, you’ll also receive an adorable Terrarium of Muad’Dib. Now you can keep it in your home and give it the love it deserves instead of drinking its blood, you heartless monster.
You can find more details as well as pictures of the knife and terrarium on our blog here!
Digital Postcards
Arrakis may not be the most relaxing vacation location, but you can still make your family and friends jealous of your adventures with these digital postcards. At very least, they’ll know you haven’t made yourself worm food just yet.
As you progress into the deserts of Arrakis, you’ll unlock a variety of vehicles to help with your survival and control over spice. You may even find yourself building a garage to house your rides for both the land and sky. One of these will be the strong and bulky carrier ornithopter.
While the light ornithopters are built for speed and scouting, these are made for transporting you and your allies to places of interest. Once you hear the boom and see the sky turn purple from a spice blow, it’s all hands on deck. Use the carrier ornithopter to quickly transport a sandcrawler to the spice. This makes harvesting easier, as one of your allies can pilot the sandcrawler even as you drop it onto the sand.
It’s not just limited to sandcrawlers though! Carrier ornithopters can move groundcars and even other ornithopters, so moving as a group is much more convenient.
The following images are concept art created when brainstorming the physical appearance of the carrier ornithopter as well as understanding the functions. Final version (and names!) in the game may change.
Concept art was created by Sheng Lam and Kemp Remillard. Find more of their work in their ArtStations!
The fanart continues to roll in and we’re as happy as a Kulon in a stillsuit! Check out the latest batch of art, and remember, you too can be included in a future issue. Just share your creation by using #CommuninetSignal on social media, or the #fanart channel of the official Discord.
The Sleepers featured here will also be invited to take part in the Dune: Awakening Closed Beta!
Sandwalking: A Community Podcast Episode 2
Deadwoman Walking and FlamingMojo are at it again but with a special guest this time! Community Manager Iggy takes the mic and joins in on the action. It’s a great way to pass the time and maybe learn something new while doing dishes, hiking, or even while creating your character.
A Swordmaster freshly arrived on Arrakis by @LoneLionArt on X (Twitter)
Original characters of MewsikOn and Anna-Maria Manners characters celebrating Valentine’s Day
Surviving in a stillsuit by MooCow
Different types of weapons require different ammo. Some dart-based guns will require light darts or heavier darts based on the type of weapon. For example, a Heavy Pistol type weapon uses heavy darts while a Scattergun uses light darts. On top of that you also have flamethrowers, lasguns, and rocket launchers which will all require different ammo.
Each will require you to manage your ammo levels but you're not locked out of using any type of gun. There are no level or "class" requirements to use the different types of guns.
At launch you'll be able to pledge your support to the Atreides or the Harkonnen houses which will each have their own path and rewards. As this is the Dune universe, you will have interactions with those in other factions. For example, CHOAM oversees all (official) commerce on Arrakis, so you'll interact with them at the exchange; the emperor levies a spice tax on Arrakis which you'll have to pay when your base meets certain requirements and so on. We have a lot of plans for future updates but for now this is what we can confirm.
Having a base in Dune: Awakening is extremely important, to say the least. Yes crafting and converting collected blood into water is a large chunk of why it is, but your entire production and resource processing is at your base. From water collection, to creating ingots for weapons and armor, to repairing and recycling.
Additionally, you can share access to your base with others, making it a common place for your friends and guildmates to hang out. And of course, as it’s something you’ll be operating out of, making a garage for vehicle storage is a must-have. Leaving your groundcars or ornithopters outside is risky, as you’re exposing them to the harsh elements of Arrakis. The last thing you want is losing an ornithopter you worked so hard on to a sandstorm.
Ornithopters have several optional modules you can craft and place onto them, one of them being rockets. This will help when you’re dealing with other ornithopters in the sky or sandcrawlers trying to steal spice in the Deep Desert. As with other weapons, ammo levels must be managed, so make sure your ornithopter is fully loaded and armed before heading into combat.
Yes, modules and other “completed” items can be sold at the exchange. Whether you're looking to make some extra Solari by selling the parts, or you're in the market for a new set of ornithopter parts, the exchange is where you want to go. It's also a good place to go to buy and sell unique modules and schematics.
When building a base, the first step will be placing a subfief. This is essentially the core of your home, as it sets your base boundaries of where you can build as well as protects it from outside elements. If it’s removed, you will lose control over the entire base. As you progress in the game you will be able to build up to three subfiefs; this will make moving much easier! Just place another subfief in the new area you want to build in, and start moving your items.
Tearing down your old base is made easier, as building refunds are 100%! So all resources used to create your walls, ceilings, refineries, and so on are given back to you to build your new home. The only exception to this rule is the subfief, where you will receive 50% of resources back when deconstructing it.
This was a really exciting Signal for us with so much to share and we hope you’re as hyped about full launch as we are! Remember to wishlist the game on Steam so you are ready for it on May 20th, and to create the Sleeper of your spice dreams. We want to see those faces whether they’re as pale as a Harkonnen, as suave as an Atreides, or something even a sandworm is too afraid to come close to. You can do that by using #DuneAwakening on social media, or share in the #character-creator-showoff on the official Discord server.
With the release date set in granite, we are looking forward to sharing and showing off even more of what you can expect with launch. It’s only two months away, and we’ll be counting every second. See you on Arrakis soon!