Dune Awakening's console release

Dune Awakening, a video game based on the Dune franchise, has recently been released on consoles. Despite some positive qualities and films that have brought the saga into a new golden age, Dune Awakening has not fully met expectations from Funcom.

Struggles with player engagement

Although it had a promising start, the MMO struggled to retain its community and found difficulty in balancing content oriented towards player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP). The release of the console version was expected to help Funcom turn things around, but internally, significant changes are underway.

Layoffs and leadership changes

Last year, Funcom conducted layoffs due to underperformance of Dune Awakening. This year, similar actions are taking place as part of a major restructuring for the company. Rui Casais, CEO of Funcom for 11 years, will be succeeded by Scott Junior by the end of the year.

New leadership's vision

Scott Junior previously held the position of chief product officer. He stated, "Monitoring the continued growth of Dune Awakening and Conan Exiles represents a great responsibility, and I am honored that this mission has been entrusted to me. My work will be to ensure that Funcom is organized in the most optimal way possible to develop these games for many years, through the addition of new content and gameplay elements, while maintaining close ties with our passionate communities."

Post-development restructuring

The reason behind this change is that Dune Awakening has now completed its major development cycle with the release of the console versions. Now that this task is complete, both the MMO and Conan Exiles are in a maintenance phase. This also means that a restructuring is currently taking place, which includes layoffs.

Company acknowledges changes

The company stated, "As Funcom adapts its organization to this new direction, the company is also entering a phase of restructuring. This involves a reduction in staff and, unfortunately, having to say goodbye to some valued colleagues." Funcom has not specified how many people will be laid off. The studio has only promised that support for its two games will continue, with new content planned.