Dune is a pretty weird franchise, and the further you delve into the books, the weirder it gets. Paul’s son eventually turns into a massive worm and god-emperor, ruling the Atreides Empire for thousands of years, and that’s just the tip of the very weird iceberg. We haven’t seen many of these oddities in popular media just yet, but Dune: Awakening Chapter 2 looks set to push the boundaries a little further. There are no enormous worm people yet, but there is a dragon.

Without spoiling too much of the actual content coming as part of this free update, I’ll just say it involves a lot of Solido Projections and vastly different interior landscapes compared to what we’ve seen in the game so far. It was so refreshing to witness more interesting architecture in the Testing Stations in particular, rather than the sort of solid grey mass we’ve currently got. Harnessing aspects of the Dune lore that you probably won’t see coming, the update is the first sign of Awakening realising its true potential.

Awakening received a little flak recently for a sneak peek of one of the upcoming weapons because it featured a dragon’s head on the muzzle. Dragons are in this update. Also, it’s a flamethrower, so who cares?

There's A Lot Of Content Here

This is a chunky update that takes several hours to play through, and follows neatly on from the end of the current Awakening storyline. The main story is free for all players. Both player hubs, Arrakeen and Harko Village, will also receive a new contract board with side-quests that can be completed for rewards. It makes sense that these big areas are getting a bit of love, as they’re detailed in design but largely devoid of content. You’ll also find a new Doctor NPC that is able to change the appearance of your character for a small charge.

Alongside the main story, Dune: Awakening will also be receiving some paid DLC, called The Lost Harvest. This is optional content that takes place in the Vermillius Gap, the second zone you explore in the base game. Players who’ve already progressed past this point can return to complete the content whenever they like.

The paid DLC focuses on the Dunemen, the average, everyday workers out on the Spice fields. These are the guys that drive the Harvesters. Tough gig. You’ll follow an emergent storyline about a wrecked Harvester, which was shot down by the locals. Again, no spoilers, but it’s another hefty bit of content here, and it comes with some new Dunemen armor sets, building sets, and furniture. The new garage doors look particularly snazzy.

More Wheels And Quality Of Life

You’ll want new garage doors for the fresh vehicle added to Dune: Awakening with this update - the Treadwheel. I saw some early pictures of this, and I wasn’t really sure how it was going to work, but after seeing it in action, I can’t wait to cruise over the dunes in it. The massive wheel allows you to go forward and backward, spinning around with ease. It’s similar in speed to the Sandbike but seems both more mobile and versatile in how you explore. Someone can also sit on the back seat and fire their gun, which could make this a fun PvP vehicle.

With the new content comes a bunch of new quality-of-life changes: there were so many on the way that we didn’t even have a chance to hear them all from the team, but there was a big focus on combat upgrades. Player movement and animation looked a bit smoother than I’m used to, though I can't say for sure until I get my hands on it for myself. Enemies now also apparently scale in difficulty a bit better as the game progresses, and you’ll find that higher-tier enemies now hit more of their shots.

Dune: Awakening Chapter 2 is the first big update for the game, and more like this is likely following the resounding success of the game following its launch earlier this year. Personally, I’d like the Deep Desert and endgame zones to get a bit of an overhaul, as I’ve found the PvP less and less enjoyable over the past few months. The Lost Harvest and additional story content are steps in the right direction, though.

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Dune: Awakening

Open-World Survival MMO Systems 12 8.8/10 Released June 10, 2025 Developer(s) Funcom Publisher(s) Funcom Engine Unreal Engine 5
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