What had been a closed beta test for Funcom’s upcoming Dune Awakening is now available to everyone who has pre-ordered the game, not just those lucky enough to have bagged a code.
In a message posted to social media, Funcom confirmed that has “had heard [the] feedback” from fans surprised a pre-order wasn’t enough to secure a beta key, and now anyone who has ordered the MMO “can now also access the beta” which is live now and due to close tomorrow, Monday 12th May.
“We heard your feedback on this, “the studio said. “If you already own or decide to pre-order any of the editions this weekend, you should now also see a Beta Weekend product in your Steam library. You might need to restart your Steam client to see the Dune: Awakening Beta Weekend app.”
Dune: Awakening has been in closed beta for over a year now, but with its full release now looming following a brief delay, this final, large-scale beta blowout will run from 9th-12th May. The studio is calling it Dune: Awakening’s “largest beta yet… with a huge number of new players joining compared to previous closed betas”.
It’s likely the studio acquisced after players on the game’s subreddit and Discord complained about not getting access to the latest beta despite having pre-ordered the MMO.
Everyone who has pre-ordered Dune: Awakening can now also access the Beta Weekend!
We heard your feedback on this. If you already own or decide to pre-order any of the editions this weekend, you should now also see a Beta Weekend product in your Steam library.[image or embed]
— Dune: Awakening (@duneawakening.com) May 9, 2025 at 8:41 PM
The change follows Funcom’s acknowledgement that it had “seen several comments expressing concerns about server load and queues”, and was “preparing accordingly”, saying: “But, rest assured, there will be thousands of servers grouped together in hundreds of Worlds available at launch. They will be spread out across the globe, offering low-latency connections in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia as illustrated in the image below.
“If we see that we’re nearing capacity, we will be able to spin up more. This is not our first rodeo, we’ve launched several MMOs and survival games over the past 25 years, and we have a robust set of tools and processes in place, managed by an experienced live operations team.”
Funcom unveiled Dune: Awakening in 2022, as part of its deal to make “at least” three games set in the Dune universe. It whisks players to Arrakis for an open-world, multiplayer survival adventure drawing from Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novels and Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptations.
