Funcom Lead Says 80% of Dune: Awakening Players Prefer PvE as Team Considers Faction-vs-Faction PvP

Funcom is reassessing the multiplayer balance of Dune: Awakening after discovering that the overwhelming majority of its players prefer PvE content. According to Funcom Chief Creative Officer Joel Bylos, player metrics showed that roughly 80% of the game’s community primarily engages with PvE rather than PvP.

The revelation comes as Funcom prepares additional content for its survival MMO, including the upcoming single-player mode. While the developer plans to focus more heavily on the PvE audience, Bylos confirmed that PvP has not been abandoned and that more structured competitive features could eventually arrive.

Funcom Plans a Different Approach to Dune: Awakening PvP

Speaking to Game Radar at Gamescom 2026, Bylos acknowledged that trying to satisfy both PvE and PvP audiences created problems for Dune: Awakening at launch.

“We were mixing two types of players together who didn’t want to be mixed together,”

he explained, arguing that dedicated PvP players and PvE-focused players often want fundamentally different experiences.

According to Bylos, Funcom’s internal data showed that 80% of players were PvE-focused, prompting the studio to prioritize that audience. This approach will continue alongside the game’s expanding solo options.

However, PvP fans could eventually receive more dedicated content rather than being forced into the same systems as primarily PvE players. Bylos said Funcom will explore “more structured PvP things in the future” once the immediate demands surrounding the console launch are handled.

One possibility already being considered is faction-versus-faction PvP. Bylos specifically described it as “something on my mind,” suggesting Funcom could eventually develop competitive systems that give PvP players a more focused environment.

For now, the studio appears committed to refining the experience around the preferences of its largest player group. Further PvP plans are expected to become clearer after Dune: Awakening’s console launch, when Funcom has more time to evaluate potential features and long-term improvements.