Publisher Funcom and developer Shiro Games have unveiled the early access roadmap for Dune: Spice Wars shortly after its early access launch, giving us a better look at the first set of new features and content coming to the strategy game in 2022 and beyond. As 2023 rolled in, it then shared updated development plans, confirming that the game was about 70% complete and ready to fully release in the latter part of the year.
Dune: Spice Wars’ early access roadmap includes both major additions, such as the long-awaited multiplayer mode, as well as other features that haven’t been shared yet. The team behind the game notes that the list below is not exhaustive and is subject to change, depending on the feedback it receives from players as development progresses.
Dune: Spice Wars Roadmap 2022
Dune: Spice Wars’ early access roadmap kicked things off on June 20, 2022, when the game’s multiplayer mode dropped. Launching with support for dedicated servers, peer-to-peer matches, and up to 4 players, it lets you pick between 2v2 and free for all while deciding the strength of potential AI factions, and more.
Planned for summer, but arriving on September 22 was the game’s fifth playable faction, confirmed as House Corrino, alongside a new victory condition, which requires players to own more than 50% of the CHOAM to win.
On November 17, 2022, the Air & Sand update added new spaceships and aerial combat, two new resources, a series of new buildings, alongside The Renegades as neutral enemies, and much more.
Dune: Spice Wars Roadmap 2023
Dune: Spice Wars’ 2023 roadmap debuted with the Line in the Sand update, which went live on January 24, 2023.
It reworked councilors, improved map generation, added end game statistics, and introduced a sweeping set of balance changes.
As April drew to a close, we got an update shedding more light on developer Shiro Games’ future plans for the title.
It confirmed that Conquest Mode, a new campaign, is in development. Designed to be highly replayable, it asks players to lead a major house “through number of unique scenarios and situations that will encourage [them] to utilise every system at their disposal in order to progress.”
Perks and upgrades can be used to modify our chosen house, encouraging experimentation and exploration of different playstyles. The developer estimates each Conquest run to provide “around 10 hours of playtime.”
Proper tutorials are also in the works, as is a new faction. Additional game customization options are also coming, allowing us to tweak elements such as world hostility, overall difficulty, the amount of taxes they pay, and more.
Lastly, hero characters will be roaming the sands of Arrakis at some point in the future.
This Dune: Spice Wars 2023 roadmap update was when the developer confirmed it has added “about 70% of what’s planned for the game, with the above additions probably rounding that out to about 95%.”
Then, “balancing, map generation improvements and system overhauls also in the works […] should bring us to 100% and ultimately, release!”
To this extent, Dune: Spice Wars is currently aiming to leave Early Access “towards the latter half of the year.”
On June 22, the Conquest update went live, introducing the new campaign alongside new tutorials, resource management updates, and the new Sandfall map region. Various other changes were also included, as was a rework of the plascrete resource.
In late August 2023, Shiro Games confirmed that Dune: Spice Wars would leave early access at some point in September 2023.
The developer later announced that the release date for the game’s 1.0 version had been locked down to September 14, 2023. House Ecaz, the title’s newest faction, accompanies the update.
For more on the strategy game, here is what we thought after spending some time with its early access version when it launched.
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