Conan Exile developer Funcom has signed a deal that sets the studio to make new games set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe. The deal was a partnership between the Funcom and Legendary Studios, which is a division of Legendary Entertainment.
Legendary Entertainment also owns the movie and television rights to Dune, which can allow Funcom to make games that are set in the Dune universe. The signed deal will last for 6 years, and Funcom expects to release at least three new titles across PC and consoles during this time.
A statement released by Funcom CEO Rui Casais said:
Funcom has a strong history of working with beloved sci-fi/fantasy intellectual properties including our bestsellers Age of Conan and Conan Exiles. So many of us at Funcom, myself included, are huge fans of Frank Herbert’s work and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Legendary to bring the iconic Dune universe to life for gamers all over the globe.
Funcom has not provided anymore details about the three projects that it has planned to put in works, but the developer did say that one of the project will be an open world multiplayer game that is scheduled to enter pre-production in its studio in Oslo.
The other two games have no mention in the press release statement, but it seems that Funcom will develop the rest of the two games rather than outsourcing the way that Funcom has with the Conan the Barbarian license, like the upcoming Conan Unconquered by Petroglyph.
All things said, it still remains to be seen whether the game sill follow the closely to the books or follow the likes of the movie, and whether they will bring in the new actors that have appeared in the film. Nonetheless, it is setting up to be a great few years for the Dune Franchise and its fans.
What do you think of the games being made in Dune universe? Would you like the game to follow more closely to the books or the movie? Let us know in the comments below.
