Funcom and Shiro games have announced Dune: Spice Wars during The Game Awards 2021, planned for early access before a full release. The game's reveal comes just months after the critically successful first film adaption of the Dune novelizations, leading some to wonder if the new game will be based on the novels or the film. The classic science fiction storyline and intriguing premise make it the perfect inspiration for a Dune film or novel video game adaptation, and the attention drawn by the movie could help boost the new title as it releases for early play.
As announced by Funcom and Shiro Games, Dune: Spice Wars is a 4x real-time strategy game. Players will be able to choose between factions with the primary goal of controlling all the spice available on Arakkis. This is done using in-game mechanics such as sabotaging, assassinating, and spying on opponents, as well as asserting political strategy and influence. The early access period for Dune: Spice Wars will be used to gain player feedback, which will then be used to improve the overall gameplay before the official release date at a later time.
While it is likely much of the strategy in the Dune: Spice Wars game will be designed using thematic and visual inspiration from the Dune film, players will likely find a good balance of content both from the movie and the novels. According to the information given to Screen Rant by the developer, CEO Sebastien Vidal has stated, “I think I speak for every single person at Shiro Games, when I say that we are all massive fans of Dune – both of the original novel and the new and spectacular Denis Villeneuve film. To be able to bring this universe to life as a strategy game again is incredible." This indicates the team may be pulling content from both iterations of the Dune universe, allowing fans of both the ability to enjoy everything Dune: Spice Wars has to offer.
Dune: Spice Wars Uses Real-Time Mechanics, Potentially Smoothing Gameplay
Dune: Spice Wars has announced that it will use RTS (real-time strategy) instead of a turn-based progression, allowing simultaneous objective progression. Fans of other RTS titles like Age of Empires, and Shiro Games' other well-known game Northgard, will potentially find the progression interesting and engaging. It is also a big step away from historical classic and mythological themes that often are found in the genre. Unfortunately, it may be lacking for RPG fans hoping to see an open-world adventure in the Dune universe.
While the trailer shown at The Game Awards 2021 was limited, offering minimal footage showing gameplay, the title plans to enter early access during 2022. For those who have been anticipating a Dune property beyond a crossover with Fortnite, Dune: Spice Wars will hopefully give fans of city management, strategy, and sci-fi game a fresh title to enjoy with elements that allow it to stand out in comparison to similar titles in the genre thanks to the novel and film influences.
Dune: Spice Wars will enter early access on PC via Steam in 2022.