New Dune RTS Coming After 23 Years!

Dune’s is making a comeback: the new strategy game is just revealed. Westwood Studios’ Dune 2, released back in the early ’90s and it established the real-time strategy genre, made the way for Command & Conquer and Blizzard’s Warcraft. Westwood revisited Arrakis in 1998 with a remake, Dune 2000, that was a bit eh and not among the best Dune games. At The Game Awards, Funcom released a trailer for Dune: Spice Wars, a 4X coming next year.

Spice Wars is already now on Steam page, which gives us some insight into what to expect here. And a good thing, too, because the trailer above is just setting the mood with familiar bits of Dune dialogue.

A real-time strategy game with 4X elements, from the developers of the critically acclaimed Northgard. Set in Frank Herbert’s groundbreaking Dune universe, you must lead your faction and battle for control and dominance over the harsh desert planet of Arrakis…

“Scan the landscape for wormsign or risk losing your troops and spice harvesters to titanic sandworms who will burst through the sand dunes to swallow and devour them whole. Best your opponents through political intrigue, crush them in combat, and undermine them with your network of illusive spies.”

Funcom plans to release Dune: Spice Wars in Early Access, and it looks like two houses will be available to play at release—House Atreides and House Harkonnen.

Spice Wars promises you’ll be able to “choose between subterfuge, political influence, economic supremacy, or open warfare to prevail.” You’ll be able to use secret agents to sabotage other houses and do some politicking within the Imperium’s Landsraad. A 4X seems like a perfect fit for Dune if Funcom can stick the landing.