Here’s What We Know About The Upcoming Dune: Spice Wars Game

It’s high time we revisit the Dune universe in video game form, after the major success of the 2021 film. Developer Shiro Games just posted an FAQ about its upcoming real-time strategy title Dune: Spice Wars, which is set to be a spiritual successor to the Dune real-time strategy games that came out in the 90s and 2000s.

Turns out that the upcoming game plans to mix in 4X elements while preserving its real-time strategy roots. Dune: Spice Wars will be a hybrid: part 4X game like Civilization VI and part RTS like the old Dune titles. It won’t be fully turn-based, but it will be slower-paced and larger-scale than a typical RTS. Shiro Games said that these features “make it a true 4X game but do not detract from the core RTS experience that players would expect”.

The game’s initial Early Access launch will feature four playable factions, with a fifth one planned for later in Early Access. Two of them are already revealed: House Atreides and House Harkonnen. The game will have a campaign and multiplayer mode eventually, with the current Early Access only featuring instanced PvE.

Dune: Spice Wars’ Early Access will be out later this year for PC (via Steam).