Set in Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi universe, Dune: Spice Wars invites players to the unforgiving planet of Arrakis, where they will battle for possession of each drop of water and load of spice.

Spice is the most valuable resource in the universe. The spice extends life, it expands consciousness and makes interstellar travel possible. Create your own story and play as one of several factions, including House Atreides and House Harkonnen, and compete for power over Dune and the spice.

Scan the landscape for wormsign or risk losing your troops and spice harvesters to titanic sandworms who will burst through the sand dunes to swallow and devour them whole. Best your opponents through political intrigue, crush them in combat, and undermine them with your network of illusive spies.

Dune: Spice Wars features asymmetrical gameplay, will have several playable factions, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as multiple ways to achieve your ultimate goal – control of 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.

Dune: Spice Wars is based more on the original novel than on the movie, but since we’re both drawing on the same intellectual property, there will be some similarities.

Publisher Funcom and developer Shiro Games are excited to announce the arrival of multiplayer in Dune: Spice Wars, currently available through Steam Early Access.

Players can now band together in 2v2 matches or face each other in a free-for-all of up to four players.

To celebrate this milestone, Dune: Spice Wars is now 20% off on Steam. Gather your forces and take a look at the brand-new multiplayer trailer! 

There has never been a better time to lure friends in with promises of spice, then see who the desert takes first. In today’s update, take the reins of either the Atreides, Harkonnen, Fremen, or Smugglers in matches of up to four players. Any open spots can be filled with AI-controlled factions ranging in difficulty from easy to insane, and each game can be tailored to suit preferences, including map size and sandworm, storm, and Sietch activity. Victory conditions can also be tweaked.  

In addition to multiplayer, this update also reworks the development trees with a focus on synergy between factions, and adds new political resolutions, events, regions, and many other improvements. 

The Multiplayer Update is the first major delivery on the Early Access Roadmap, but by no means the first update. The spice must flow, and so it did with the Community Update in May, bringing a long list of improvements and additions. Players can expect more updates such as this in the future. 

Key Features:

• Frank Herbert’s Dune: Experience the unique Dune universe – one of the most influential sci-fi settings ever created. Play as iconic characters, such Duke Leto Atreides, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and more, and guide your faction to victory. Watch for the constant threat of the massive sandworms, who dominate the dangerous landscape of Dune.
• Forge your own path: Choose between subterfuge, political influence, economic supremacy, or open warfare toprevail and gain control over the most important planet in the universe! Use secretive agents to sabotage the plans of your opponents. Vote on political resolutions in the Landsraad to further your strategy.
• 4X in real-time: Explore Dune with ornithopters to discover resources, villages, and points of interest. Expand with your troops to take control of more and more regions. Exploit the resources through buildings and spice harvesters to dominate the economy. Exterminate your enemies with a strong military but beware as outright aggression can have high political repercussions.
• Growing throughout Early Access: The game will be updated and expanded during Early Access based on your feedback. More features and content, improved balance and new game modes will be added in the Early Access period, based on the crucial input of the community.

Dune: Spice Wars is the first game based on the Dune IP to be published by Funcom and is not to be confused with the open-world survival game the studio is developing. Dune: Spice Wars is created by the same team that released critically acclaimed RTS Northgard in 2017, using their expertise in creating strategy games to bring the Dune universe to life.

Dune: Spice Wars is in development for PC (Steam).