Funcom’s open-world survival MMO Dune: Awakening is losing players fast, with nearly 80% gone just weeks after launch.
Dune: Awakening, Funcom’s ambitious survival MMO based on the iconic sci-fi universe, officially launched on PC in mid-June 2025. The game offered players a mix of base building, faction conflict, spice harvesting, and vehicle combat across the dangerous deserts of Arrakis.
There was plenty of early interest, especially after an early access period, but since launch, Dune: Awakening has been through a whirlwind of changes. In just a few weeks, the game introduced major updates: PvP zones were reduced after backlash, new safe areas were added in the Deep Desert, and exploit fixes have rolled out in nearly every patch.
While these adjustments show that Funcom is listening, there’s no ignoring the trend: Dune: Awakening’s player numbers are dropping fast.
Dune: Awakening Steam Playercount Shows Big Drop
According to the data from SteamDB, Dune: Awakening peaked at 189,333 concurrent players shortly after launch on June 15. Just seven weeks later, the 24-hour peak as of July 31 was down to 39,116. That’s a drop of nearly 80% in daily peak player count.
Here’s a closer look at the numbers:
- June 2025 Peak: 189,333
- July 2025 Peak: 114,864 (down 39.3%)
- Average Players in July: 48,908 (down 49.2% from June’s average of 96,218)
- July 31 Peak: 39,116
This steep decline in such a short time is raising eyebrows and frustration from fans. Many posts on the r/duneawakening subreddit and the Steam forums point to a mix of burnout, bugs, and game design choices. Players say the core loop gets repetitive, and endgame PvP feels toxic for new players.
Despite the drop in numbers, Funcom’s CEO Rui Casais says they’re in it for the long haul. In a game launch statement, he promised that Dune: Awakening has “years worth of plans” ahead and reassured players that this is just the start of what’s coming.
What do you think? Are you still playing Dune: Awakening, or did you step away? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
