Dune: Spice Wars Is A 4X RTS Game Launching Next Year On PC

As part of The Game Awards this evening, Funcom officially announced its new Dune game coming from Shiro Games and shared more details about it. It's called Dune: Spice Wars, and it's a real-time strategy game with 4X elements. As announced previously, it's based on the Frank Herbert novel, and it's expected to launch in 2022, which is a year before Denis Villeneuve's Dune Part 2 releases in theaters.

Spice Wars will launch on PC through early access first before its public release. There is no word yet on if it might also come to console. Importantly, this is separate from Funcom's other Dune game, an open-world survival game. We still don't know much about that project.

Shiro Games also developed Northgard, the generally well-received RTS that was released in 2017.

"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," CEO Sebastien Vidal said.

Gallery

"The Dune universe is the perfect setting for a strategy game. You have major factions, such as House Atreides and House Harkonnen, with a rivalry that spans back centuries. You have political intrigue, deception, and warfare, all centered around what is by far the most valuable substance in the universe: Spice. And then there is the stage itself, Arrakis, a hostile planet full of hidden wonders to explore. Massive sandworms that can devour entire armies, sandstorms, spice harvesters, all of which our amazing team of developers have incorporated into this game," he added.

Spice Wars will include "several" playable factions and multiple different ways to play, but the end goal is the same--to control the spice on Arrakis.

"You can deploy agents to sabotage, assassinate and spy on your opponents, use political means to influence the Landsraad and pass beneficial resolutions, amass incredible wealth and simply overwhelm the other houses through economic and technological supremacy, or you can opt for open war," reads a line from the game's description.