Dune: Spice Wars is a new strategy game coming to PC in early 2022 ^↺

The Dune series has made quite the resurgence this year. The movie has grossed over US$380 million so far, and interest in the book series has been rekindled for many veteran fans and newcomers. Now, gamers nostalgic for the glory days of Dune strategy games are in luck: a new real-time strategy (RTS) game, titled Dune: Spice Wars, is slotted to release early next year. 

Not much is known about Dune: Spice Wars outside of the title and genre, but the game is expected to put players in command of one of an assortment of Houses to conquer the planet Arrakis so as to control the spice Melange. 

Older gamers may remember Westwood Studio’s classic Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty. The DOS title essentially birthed the RTS genre upon its release in 1992. Set in the Dune universe, players could command the troops the noble House Atreides, the insidious House Ordos, or the evil House Harkonnen. 

Dune: Spice Wars looks to keep the same setting as the classic title while incorporating more complex, modern, and varied gameplay. Per developer Shiro Games, players will be able to “forge their own path.” The new game will deviate from its RTS predecessor in many ways, though; Shiro Games describes the title as a game with “4X elements,” meaning players will explore the world, expand their base/empire, exploit resources, and exterminate opposition (similar to games like the Civilization series). 

The game will launch in Early Access in the first part of 2022. Shiro Games aims to “grow” the title, meaning that features, units, gameplay modes, and more will steadily be added over the next few years. The development studio said they are pursuing Early Access to better tune the game to community feedback. 

Interested gamers can find out more at dunegames.com and add Dune: Spice Wars to their Steam Wishlist.