Dune: Awakening Sandworms Can Not Be Killed

Sandworms in Dune: Awakening will be unkillable, Funcom has revealed. The confirmation of their immortality arrived as part of a new developer diary featuring an extensive behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming game, and offering some other details about how Dune: Awakening will handle the most iconic creature from the seminal sci-fi saga.

Dune: Awakening is a survival MMO that was originally announced in August 2022. Although Funcom has yet to treat the game to a release date, the Norwegian studio has just shared its most in-depth look at the project to date, having done so in the form of a 30-minute Dune: Awakening Direct stream.

Among other things, the March 4 broadcast revealed that the upcoming MMO will try to capture the essence of sandworms from Frank Herbert's books in a multitude of ways. To begin with, Funcom Chief Creative Officer Joel Bylos confirmed that the game's rendition of Dune's sandworms will be a constant threat to the player. Not long after one starts walking through the Arrakis desert, they will hear the hiss of the sand in the distance as the sandworm begins to move towards them. The hissing will eventually turn into trembling, followed by the sandworm erupting from the ground with a terrifying roar.

Once that happens, Dune: Awakening players will only have seconds to live if they are unable to make it to rocky ground. Combat will not be an option, because the menacing desert creatures will be unkillable. But that doesn't mean that avoiding them will come down to pure luck and risk-averseness; players will also be able to craft thumpers, small stakes with spring-loaded clappers that are used for calling sandworms in the world of Dune by rhythmically striking the ground. This piece of equipment will hence help lure sandworms and buy parties more time to get away.

There's really only one rule: the Sandworm will always come.

Merely exploring the world of Dune: Awakening will hence require constant vigilance. «There's really only one rule: the