Dune: Awakening Dev Reveals Villeneuve's Star Wars Worry

Funcom's CCO says Denis Villeneuve once worried the title 'Dune: Awakening' sounded too close to Star Wars, but the game pushed ahead anyway.

Ever wondered what it takes to get a Dune game approved by the people behind the movies? Funcom's chief creative officer Jon Bylos just pulled back the curtain, and it turns out even the title had a bumpy ride.

Speaking to gamesindustry.biz, Bylos explained that working with Legendary—the license holder for Denis Villeneuve's Dune films—is actually pretty smooth. The team submits ideas through Jira, the same project management tool your office probably uses, and Legendary typically approves them within a set timeframe. If things stall, Funcom just escalates. "Usually it's a pretty automated process," Bylos said. "It runs pretty solidly." That's a far cry from the endless meetings and phone calls that usually bog down licensed games.

But here's the fun part: at one point, Villeneuve himself suggested that the name Dune: Awakening "could be a little too close to Star Wars." The filmmaker, who directed both of the recent Dune movies, apparently saw some galaxy-sized overlap. Funcom, however, trudged forward anyway. And honestly, can you blame them? The title stuck, and the game is now riding into its second year.

Sometimes the devs get diverted to Frank Herbert's estate or even Villeneuve for guidance. But Bylos says trust has built up over time. "When you've established that trust, the processes aren't necessarily as important: it's more about just knowing that the other people have the IP's back," he said. That kind of relationship is gold when you're handling a 61-year-old sci-fi epic.

Dune: Awakening launched into a community of players who love riding sandworms around Arrakis, and it's still growing. The spice must flow, as they say. So whether you're a solo survivor or a guild leader, there's plenty of desert to explore.

What do you think of the Star Wars comparison? Will you be picking up Dune: Awakening? Let us know in the comments!