Funcom's Dune Video Game Is Still Years Away

Ever since it was first published in 1965, Dune has become a bizarre and beloved part of the science-fiction world. Within the next year, a whole new generation of fans will most likely be falling in love with the iconic franchise, as Denis Villeneuve's live-action movie reboot is slated to hit theaters in December. It's clear that the franchise is going to be expanded out in some major ways in the near future -- but it sounds like one project won't be part of that just yet. The video game company Funcom recently released a new 2019 financial report, in which they confirmed that their Dune open-world multiplayer game is still a few years away from being released.

"The biggest, most exciting and most ambitious of our projects is without a doubt the DUNE open-world survival game we're working on, after having secured the exclusive rights for PC and Console games with this fantastic IP," Funcom CEO Rui Casais said in the report. "It's a game that is still a few years away and will be a more ambitious and robust version of Conan Exiles set in the DUNE universe, designed to be a game as a service from the outset."

While fans will probably be bummed by the notion that the game is still a ways away, the notion of it being "more ambitious and robust" than the company's work on Conan Exiles is certainly promising.

This is far from the Dune franchise's first foray into video games, as the first video game was released for the MS-DOS and Amiga in 1992. The game was quickly seen as a smashing success and spawned multiple sequels until 2001 when Dune Generation was ultimately canceled.

"Funcom has a strong history of working with beloved sci-fi/fantasy intellectual properties including our bestsellers Age of Conan and Conan Exiles," Casais said in a statement when the game was first announced. "So many of us at Funcom, myself included, are huge fans of Frank Herbert's work and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Legendary to bring the iconic Dune universe to life for gamers all over the globe."

This is just the latest Dune property to be in the works for the immediate future, including Villeneuve's planned two-film saga, and an upcoming HBO Max series called Dune: The Sisterhood, which would follow the franchise's Bene Gesserit.

What do you think of the latest update surrounding Funcom's Dune video game? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!