Publisher Funcom and developer Shiro Games announced the Dune: Spice Wars early access launch is set for April 2022.
Dune: Spice Wars early access launch is set for April 26th for Windows PC via Steam. The publisher also revealed the game’s fourth faction, the Fremen, who join previously confirmed factions House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and The Smugglers.
Players can expect the early access version to be “essentially the core experience” of the hotly anticipated 4X strategy game, with all four playable factions and their full political, spying, and warfare mechanics – as well as three winning conditions. While the game is in early access, more updates will be released to add a multiplayer mode, a new playable faction, the full story campaign, as well as the expected bug fixes and balancing.
“With so many massive Dune fans in the studio, the excitement I see every day of working with this universe is very real, and we hope this comes across in the game,” says Sebastien Vidal, CEO of Shiro Games. “With all this passion for the source material, and all the know-how we’ve gathered from making Northgard, we can’t wait to put this game into players’ hands.”
Here’s a rundown on the Fremen:
The Fremen are the native inhabitants of Arrakis. Angered by the imperial invaders, they lead a fierce and relentless resistance. Often underestimated, their martial prowess is well known by the few who have been lucky enough to survive an encounter with them. During the 60 years of Harkonnen occupation, the Fremen have been a constant thorn in the baron’s side.
Their dream and long term goal is to turn the planet into a lush, temperate planet, which may endanger the spice trade. The Spice Wars are an opportunity to free the planet from the imperial grip, one that the Fremen would be more than happy to take.
Fremen General Gameplay
Arising from and forged by the desert, the Fremen are less affected by the environment. They can travel further before suffering from exhaustion or attracting the sandworms. Better yet, they can use the terrible beast to travel faster and strike suddenly at the heart of their opponent’s domain. Experts in stealth tactics, they can also lay devastating ambushes on their opponents’ armies, or hide inside the dreadful sandstorms of Arrakis to surprise weakened, unsuspecting victims.
While their guerrilla tactics are more than adequate for combatting the invaders, their true power lies elsewhere: in rallying all of the sietches across Arrakis, the Fremen will grow even stronger and may be able to completely drive the imperium out of the planet.
Fremen Leader:
Prominent planetologist of the Emperor, assigned to Arrakis to study the spice cycle, Liet Kynes is secretly leading the Fremen’s ecological project started by her father. Her twin loyalty has made her a skillful schemer able to navigate both the convoluted Fremen traditions and the impenetrable Imperial administration. The Fremen have an almost religious admiration for Liet, who they believe will lead them to a utopian Arrakis, freed both from the Imperium and from water scarcity.
Just like her people, Liet is wary of outsiders, but also kind and trustworthy, concerned to the highest degree with the well-being and freedom of the Fremen.
Fremen Councillors (or equivalent)
In the complex Fremen society, the majority of those in prominence support Liet Kynes’ plan, and respect her strategic mind. Some of them have joined her in Sietch Tabr to help lead the Fremen to victory during the Spice Wars.
Chani Kynes, the daughter of Liet, is a bold and charismatic woman. Her brilliant and intuitive mind helps her gather facts and figures from the tiniest hearsays.
Stilgar Ben Fifrawi is the Naib of Sietch Tabr. A formidable warrior, but an even wiser ruler, he is deeply respected by all of the Fremen.
Mother Ramallo is a rogue Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit. She inspires a strong religious fervour into the Fremen and holds a deep knowledge of all their rites.
Otheym is a renowned Fremen fighter. He is also a very good teacher and a great leader, specialising in desert guerrilla warfare.
Fremen Unique units
The Fremen are experts in holding military influence over a large territory. They can cross long distances in the desert in a short amount of time using their legendary ability to ride sandworms, resupply less often and further from home and hold up longer against a superior force.
Warriors are the bread and butter of Fremen fighters. Armed with long knives, they are experts at using Arrakis terrain to disorient their opponents.
Infiltrators are so used to the desert that they stay invisible and unheard until they strike with their two knives. Their surprise attacks will always find a weak spot, breaking their opponents’ will and focus.
Skirmishers have a large supply of grenades. They use them to ambush well armoured units and soften them for their other comrades to finish off.
Fedaykins are the elite of the Fremen army. Trained in the weirding way and armed with the feared crysknives, they only get stronger the more opponents they face.
Kulon Caravans are the holders of the clan’s water. While they can fight the invaders with maula rifles, their main function is to set up a hiereg camp. At the camp, all Fremen units will be hidden, healed and resupplied. As such, Kulon caravans are best deployed near remote villages as proxy bases for an attack.
