While many speculated it’d be the Fremen, Funcom and Shiro Games announced the Dune: Spice Wars third faction is the Smugglers.

The enterprising, scrappy group of Smugglers have tried living outside the reach of the CHOAM corporation, and thus started becoming smugglers to both acquire and trade the coveted spice. As their name implies, the faction is excellent at sneaking, infiltrating enemy bases, and even covertly stealing resources.

Shiro Games note the Smugglers will control their own region on Arrakis, near its polar regions. Despite this, the developer promises you’ll encounter enemies soon, which is good as the Smugglers are adept at sneaking and infiltration. The groups’ secret, ultimate goal is becoming one of a Landsraad house in their own right.

The Smugglers are led by Esmar Tuek, the most respected smuggler in the trade on Arrakis – a timely alliance with the various smuggler groups due to the onset of war on Arrakis between the two most powerful houses. Esmar is a skilled spymaster that has ties to the Fremen, the Spacing Guild, and naturally the Landsraad houses.

Due to their more infiltration-focused nature, Smugglers units “take some time to heat up” when on the battlefield, but they’re naturally good in the long term. Perhaps this isn’t a faction for beginners to try out, but careful planning could make them extremely deadly both in battle and in trade.

While the Dune: Spice Wars third faction is the Smugglers, the original two factions confirmed for the December 2021-announced game are both House Atreides and House Harkonnen.

Dune: Spice Wars enters Early Access in 2022 for Windows PC via Steam.