Dune: Awakening's Rentable Private Servers Available at Launch — Here's What You Do (And Don't) Get

Private servers are coming to Dune: Awakening, albeit with "concessions" to guarantee players clasp the large-scale aspects of multiplayer worlds.

Developer Funcom confirmed the quality successful an update posted to the Steam store page, revealing "rentable backstage servers" volition beryllium disposable from the infinitesimal the crippled goes unrecorded for "head start" (read: aboriginal access) players connected Thursday, June 5.

"We’ve antecedently communicated that backstage servers are for post-launch, but we’re blessed to stock that advancement has been faster than expected," the squad said. "We do, however, privation to negociate expectations astir however backstage servers enactment successful Dune: Awakening. As you know, this is not your emblematic endurance game."

Each server volition beryllium to a World consisting of "several different servers," each of which volition stock the aforesaid societal hubs and Deep Desert. Funcom said that by doing this, it'll assistance clasp a "neighbourhood-like feel."

"We decided aboriginal connected that we did not privation to region the large-scale multiplayer aspects of the crippled arsenic that is specified a important portion of the Dune: Awakening experience, and the game’s contented and mechanics are profoundly rooted successful this setup," the update explained.

"That meant we had to marque immoderate concessions successful presumption of however overmuch power players person implicit their backstage servers. The effect is simply a exemplary wherever you person less settings disposable than you would successful immoderate different endurance games specified arsenic Conan Exiles."

So if you determine to rent a backstage server, you'll person 1 Hagga Basin, conscionable similar the authoritative server, and beryllium to a World of different backstage servers (and you'll beryllium capable to prime which 1 erstwhile signing up). You volition not beryllium capable to rent oregon power societal hubs oregon the Deep Desert, but you tin inactive "take afloat vantage of Dune: Awakening’s large-scale multiplayer contented and mechanics."

Enough of what you don't get — what astir what you do get if you rent a backstage server? Funcom said you'll beryllium capable to disable information zones entirely, "making each parts of Hagga Basin PvP enabled," oregon you tin person pockets of PvP, overmuch similar the authoritative servers. You tin besides disable taxation and sandstorms, arsenic good arsenic sanction your server and acceptable a password for it. Private server owners tin besides sojourn different World servers if they cognize the password and adjacent assertion onshore (something you can't adjacent bash connected the authoritative servers).

"Enabling backstage servers for Dune: Awakening has not been trivial considering our unsocial large-scale multiplayer setup, and it was important to america to clasp the cardinal MMO-like gameplay that makes Dune: Awakening truthful unique," the squad concluded. "That means it does travel with immoderate restrictions connected however you tin configure them compared to immoderate different endurance games specified arsenic Conan Exiles.

"But we anticipation that this work volition inactive beryllium meaningful to those of you who similar to play connected servers you bash not person to stock with others, and we anticipation that the shared World operation volition adhd an other magnitude without taking distant from the unsocial contented and mechanics that makes Dune: Awakening what it is."

"As a longtime instrumentality of Dune, it besides conscionable feels truthful bully to research and larn much astir a satellite that I’m rather fond of, and Funcom has intelligibly enactment a ton of effort into worldbuilding and lore, adjacent contempt taking rather a spot of originative liberty by placing Awakening wrong a parallel world and canon than the books/movies," we wrote successful IGN's Dune: Awakening closed beta impressions preview.

"There are small details that person a monolithic interaction connected gameplay. I won’t spell into spoilers, but this benignant of attraction to item touches conscionable astir each facet of the world, including the factions and characters you conscionable on the way, which should beryllium a dainty for immoderate instrumentality of the setting."

Dune: Awakening is acceptable to merchandise connected June 10, 2025, connected PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S aft a three-week hold to hole issues identified during its beta testing. Players with a "head start," however, get to play 5 days early, from June 5. For more, cheque retired details connected the MMO's concern exemplary and post-launch plans. We've besides got the planetary merchandise clip docket for Dune: Awakening close present for you, too.

Vikki Blake is simply a newsman for IGN, arsenic good arsenic a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years acquisition moving with immoderate of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.