The Funcom DUNE game that was announced in early 2019 is still very much in the works. In fact, it will probably be a fair few years before we actually get to play it.
The company behind Conan Exiles has released its Annual Report 2019 [PDF] which details plans on their current and upcoming plans. According to this report, the previous fiscal year — that's April 1, 2018–March 31, 2019 — had the most releases in the company's history with a total of 10 game and DLC releases spread across four hardware platforms.
Speaking to the changing dynamics of the industry (and the growing shift to digital), Funcom emphasizes that this new reality "makes for a competitive situation that leads to games requiring more than ever unique competitive advantages, larger budgets or a dose of luck in order to become visible and succeed."
That may be part of the motivation behind the development of the Funcom DUNE game. The report states that they're aiming for it to be "a more ambitious and robust version of Conan Exiles set in the DUNE universe." If you've enjoyed Conan Exiles and you'd love to see a sci-fi spin on that gameplay, it looks like DUNE might be the game for you.
There's one downside, though. Funcom does say that it's aiming to make the DUNE game "a service from the outset." While this does not necessarily mean that player-controlled servers like Conan Exiles has won't be part of the game, it does make it seem less likely.
When is the Funcom DUNE Game Release Date?
With this intriguing new information, only one question remains: when will we actually get to play the DUNE game from Funcom?
Unfortunately, it appears that we've got quite the wait ahead of us. The financial report outright states that it's "still a few years away," probably owing to the scope and scale of how they're tackling this project. Considering that the newest Dune computer game was released nearly twenty years ago, I'd say it's a good idea that they're taking the time to get it right.
Are you excited to play the Funcom DUNE game? Do you think the universe can fit with the gameplay of Conan Exiles? Let us know in the comments below!
