Dune: Awakening isn’t even properly out yet, but it has already set a concurrent player record on Steam of almost 100,000 players.
According to Steam’s official stats, Dune: Awakening peaked at 93,634 concurrent players yesterday, June 5, even though the game only released for “head start” (read: early access) players who bought either the $69.99 Deluxe Edition or the $89.99 Ultimate edition. For everyone else, the game goes live on June 10, 2025.
Concurrent players isn’t the only metric we should use when measuring how successful a game is, of course, but it’s a good starting point, even though it doesn’t account for players on other platforms (not that Dune: Awakening is available on other platforms just yet; the PS5 and Xbox Series release will follow at a later date).
Historically, weekends are usually when most players opt to jump into a game, so it’s possible Dune: Awakening will hit an even higher peak concurrent count before official launch on June 10. Of the thousands of games currently on sale on Steam, it’s currently 195th in the chart of the highest-ever concurrent peaks. Not bad for a game that’s not even out yet.
We haven’t yet had chance to review Dune: Awakening, but we did have take an extended peek when the beta was live. “As a longtime fan of Dune, it also just feels so good to explore and learn more about a world that I’m quite fond of, and Funcom has clearly put a ton of effort into worldbuilding and lore, even despite taking quite a bit of creative liberty by placing Awakening within a parallel reality and canon than the books/movies,” we wrote in IGN’s Dune: Awakening closed beta impressions preview.
“There are little details that have a massive impact on gameplay. I won’t go into spoilers, but this kind of attention to detail touches just about every aspect of the world, including the factions and characters you meet along the way, which should be a treat for any fan of the setting.”
For more, check out details on the MMO’s business model and post-launch plans. We’ve also got the global release time schedule for Dune: Awakening right here for you, too.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
