Dune: Awakening is heading somewhere very different from the desert. Funcom has announced that Blood and Ice, a free expansion set in the frozen north of Arrakis, launches on 1 December on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The studio also outlined its plans for the next three to four months, including offline single-player, character transfers, full cross-play, new events and a cosmetics store.
The expansion adds a new map called the Polar Sink, where heat becomes something players need rather than something to escape. It is split into two biomes. Players start in the tundra, where wealthy water shipper families guard their lavish strongholds, before moving on to the heavily defended ice cap, where gaining access to ice is the main objective. Gear made for the desert will need upgrading to handle the cold, and with the action back on the ground, traversal, temperature management and combat all play a bigger role. Resources unique to the Polar Sink are needed to craft that new gear.
Funcom says the map offers around 35 hours of progression, with reasons to come back for valuable resources. Harvested ice can be used to cool base equipment and speed up production, and the expansion also adds new vehicle modules, augments and specialisation traits. Future updates will give players more reasons to return to the region.
Events are also getting a bigger push. Following The Scourge, an event about a disease spreading across Arrakis, the Water Crisis event arrives shortly after Blood and Ice, with players fighting over scarce water supplies and working to end the shortage. Funcom describes these as the game’s biggest events yet, with new gameplay and locations. A new Events tab arrives with the expansion to track progress and rewards, and Funcom plans to run events more often, with new stories and free rewards.
Several requested features are also on the way. Offline single-player arrives in November. In January 2027, players will be able to copy characters from multiplayer servers to single-player, and from single-player to select private servers, and full cross-play will also be added that month.
A new cosmetics store will offer outfits, vehicle variants and more ways to customise bases, with purchases helping to fund continued development and free updates. The store will launch with rotating items, including looks recognisable from the films, and a later update will make the full catalogue available at all times.
Funcom CEO Scott Junior said the studio has more planned for the game next year.
We’re far from done. We have ambitious plans for Dune: Awakening in 2027, with several major free updates that will expand the game with new locations, mechanics, and content to discover.
