WithDune: Awakening’s launch fast approaching, the survival MMO space remains a difficult one to navigate. Developers forDune: Awakeningcan look to the initial failures and eventual successes of another major game in the space,Fallout 76,as an example. Where it appeared at first that theFalloutIP simply wasn’t enough to compensate for the underwhelming gameplay at launch,76had many things working against it. While it would seem these massive franchises have equally massive built-in audiences, it turns out things are slightly more complicated than that and these MMOs cannot rely on name recognition alone.
It’s obvious that no MMO is a guaranteed success, and the gameplay forDune: Awakeningwill need to be as bug-free as possible upon release, especially when it comes to the core survival mechanics that will likely drive the game. Over time, Bethesda eventually improvedFallout 76from its abysmal launch state and attempted to mend things with its players. As such, Funcom (the company behindDune: Awakening) will need to maintain a good rapport with longtime fans of the franchise and newcomers alike, avoiding blatant money grabs and microtransactions that are overall unpopular among MMO players.
Why Dune: Awakening As A Survival MMO Isn’t A Guaranteed Success
The Spice Must Flow For This Survival MMO
Dune: Awakeningpromises to deliver on one of the franchise’s most compelling elements: the vast,fully explorable desert world of Arrakis. Surviving on this perilous planet has the potential to bring players into theDuneuniverse in novel ways, including unique environmental survival mechanics likeusing/creating shaded areas to avoid sunlight and extracting water from desert plants. However, these elements will only be significant if the role-playing aspects are equally compelling, something thatFallout 76neglected when initially decidingnot to include NPCs, and effectivelyresolved with the Wastelander updatein 2020.
I’m Worried Dune: Awakening Is Going To Make Me The Villain
Dune: Awakening offers players the tempting challenge of trying to survive on Arrakis, but I’m worried doing so will mean turning into a villain.
Developers forDune: Awakeninghave a baked-in audience to some extent with the wildly popular novels, films, and TV show, though it isn’t clear how much of that audience will be interested in a survival MMORPG experience, or if the game will strike the right chords for fans that plan on playing. Based on earlypreviews ofDune: Awakening, the survival elements are compelling, whilethe specific MMO and PvP-related features aren’t entirely clear yet.Dune: Awakeningdevs have set expectations pretty high for fans of the franchise and the survival MMO genre, so delivering on these promises will be crucial to the game’s success.
How Fallout 76 Recovered From A Rough Launch In The MMO Space
One glaring issue that Funcom will hopefully avoid withDune: Awakeningis an egregious number of bugs present at launch, something that doomedFallout 76from the start and continued to be a thorn in its side as Bethesda released “patches” that only exacerbated or worsened bugs and performance issues.This put a bad taste in players' mouths from the onset, implying the under-developed game in its released form was a blatant cash grab; Bethesda had been accepting preorders for months prior to launch.Dune: Awakeningwill need to be as polished as possible to make an impact on its potential fan-base.
The Best Quests To Play First In Fallout 76
Side quests in Fallout 76 are integral to complete first, giving you access to weapons, items, gear, and allies that will help you survive.
As if the bugs inFallout 76weren’t bad enough, Bethesda set out on a series of grotesque marketing campaigns both before and after the game’s launch that ultimately resulted inclass action lawsuitsagainst the company, as well as anAustralian court ruling ordering refundsfor deceptive marketing. However, after all this negative sentiment,the game has a relatively decent daily player countfor an almost seven-year-old game. Time appears to have been favorable forFallout 76,and the addition of quests, NPCs, and quality-of-life updates offer players a more entertaining overall experience.
What Dune Can Learn From Fallout 76 And Other Survival MMOs
Dune: Awakening’s Success Will Depend On Positive Player Engagement
Overall,Dune: Awakeningcan learn a lot from other MMOs in the same space, and it boils down to the marketing, gameplay, future quality-of-life updates, DLC, etc. being player-centric, and developers at Funcom maintaining a strong relationship with fans of the franchise and MMOs in general.It’s a good sign thatDune: Awakeningwill include heavy narrative and political intrigue that connects to the open worldsurvival gameplay mechanics in tangible ways. Including dramatic elements, questlines, and NPCs and allowing players to decide for themselves whether to engage with them is also a positive sign.
Dune: Awakening – Story Cinematic (The Vision of Paul Atreides)
Dune: Awakening gets its official cinematic story trailer during Summer Game Fest 2024, offering a new look at the upcoming MMO.
However,Dune: Awakeningcould face a tricky launch as well if both RPG and MMO elements don’t integrate meaningfully. Developers should not lean too hard on theDunefandom, but should still honor the source material in significant ways. The combat will also need to pay homage to the IP’s iconic staples, such as body shields, Stillsuits, and Crysknives, while also creating something unique and exciting for players. While it won’t be clear untilDune: Awakeninglaunches next year, so far it seems that developers have been learning from the successes and failures of survivalist MMOs such asFallout 76.
