The Dune series has long been a favourite within the Sci-Fi world, with many shows such as Star Wars being based of it. More recently, we’ve seen the fictional world come to life on the big screen, with Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 movie.
Fans of Dune were treated to more news when Shiro Games announced that it was developing a real-time strategy game based on the Dune universe, aptly named Dune: Spice Wars. The game features 4X elements and is played in real-time, and is expected to launch for early access on Steam sometime this year.
Which houses will appear?
Thus far, Shiro Games has been pretty tight-lipped about which houses will appear in the game. They have publicly acknowledged that the Atreides and Harkonnen houses will appear, but developers have later remarked on Reddit that there “there will be both Houses and non-Houses factions in the future“.
When asked about the possibility of organisations such as the Spacing Guild and the Fremen appearing, the developers simply remarked “no comment”; later, it was revealed that the Spacing Guild will appear and will aid users in transporting people to and from Arrakis — the exact role they play in the books.
It’s possible, then, that the next faction that is announced could be the Fremen or the Spacing Guild. It’s interesting to question if there will still be a Spacing Guild monopoly on space travel.
It’s likely to feature DLC or updatable content
It’s highly likely that the game will, at launch, be pretty bare bones. Developers have confirmed that the game will initially launch as an early access.
Developers later confirmed that the game will be updated regularly with new content but is not intended to be seen as a “live service”.
I am, at this point, wondering if the updates will come in the form of general updates, or extendable DLC. I’d like to think the former, but if it’s the latter, it may put off a lot of fans.
It’s likely to be different than the books
Whilst it is a representation of the books and other media that has come before it, Shiro Games have confirmed that it is their interpretation of the books and the events/universe that the characters exist within.
This means that we could see something different than we have seen before, and that things aren’t likely to follow the books exactly, or any of the other movies that have come before.
Interestingly, developers also remarked that the styles have been developed in-house, so are also likely to differ from other media within the universe. This is a little concerning and could lead to a bit of confusion for newbies to the universe.
When will it be released?
We’re unsure at the moment when it will be released and Shiro Games is being quite tight-lipped about it. Developers on Reddit did mention that the release date is getting closer and closer, however.
What are your thoughts on the game? Are you likely to dive into the early access or wait until the game is fully polished and released? Do let us know in the comments!
