Dune: Awakening will host a massive beta weekend in just a couple of weeks: 'Tens of thousands of beta keys will be unleashed'

Dune: Awakening — Story Trailer - YouTube Dune: Awakening — Story Trailer - YouTube
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The survival MMO Dune: Awakening is set to release June 10, but just before that, some players will get the chance to bask in the harsh sun in what sounds like an absolutely massive beta weekend.

"From May 9 until May 12, the largest beta yet will take place, with a huge number of new players joining compared to previous closed Betas," a press release says. "Tune in May 10 for the Global Dune: Awakening LAN Party Broadcast—live from London and PAX East—where tens of thousands of beta keys will be unleashed!"

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In order to have a chance at joining, you'll need to go to Dune: Awakening's Steam page, where you can wishlist the game and request access to the Beta. Alternatively, you can also try to get one of the tens of thousands of codes that'll be given out during the Global LAN party broadcast on May 10. All you need to do is watch it, so it's not particularly difficult.

The LAN broadcast will be streamed simultaneously from London and PAX East. Throughout the event, you can expect to see a couple of "special guests", some discussions between the lead developers, and a few content creators competing against each other in an in-game competition.

During the beta, players will be able to not only experience the unforgiving sandy deserts of Arrakis but also check out almost all of the first act of the story, which makes up the initial 20 hours of the game. You also don't need to keep everything you come across a secret, as this beta, unlike previous ones, won't have an NDA attached, so you can share and stream everything you like, or you can remain aloof and mysterious and not tell anyone, the choice is yours.

But don't feel too down if you don't get the chance to see Dune: Awakening early (although it does seem like there's plenty of space). The survival MMO will release properly on June 10, which is slightly later than Funcom initially promised, but it's still only a few weeks after the beta, and time moves notoriously quickly when you're sitting there twiddling your thumbs waiting for a game to release.

Elie Gould
News Writer

Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path.

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