Dune Awakening Blood and Ice: Free Update Adds 35 Hours of New Content
Funcom has announced the next major expansion for Dune: Awakening. The expansion is called Blood and Ice and will be released on December 1, 2026. Blood and Ice will be completely free, meaning that if you own the game, you will receive a lot of new content. Dune: Awakening is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series.
Key Takeaways
- Dune: Awakening receives a free expansion, Blood and Ice, for PC and consoles on December 1, 2026.
- The new Polar Sink map features two ice biomes, new survival mechanics, and approximately 35 hours of additional progression.
- Funcom also announced new events, a cosmetic shop, offline single-player in November, and full crossplay in January 2027.
Instead of the familiar scorching desert, the Blood and Ice expansion takes you to the freezing north of Arrakis. The expansion introduces a new map, fresh survival mechanics, and roughly 35 hours of extra progression.
Dune: Awakening is an open-world survival game set in the Dune universe, developed and published by Funcom. Since its console release, the game has gained an additional one million players. During this time, Funcom has overhauled the endgame, released three DLCs, and concluded the main story of Book 1.
With Blood and Ice, the developers aim to expand the challenges of survival gameplay. Normally, players must survive the heat, water scarcity, and sandworms on Arrakis, but the new region offers the exact opposite, where extreme cold becomes the primary threat. To survive under these new conditions, new equipment and strategies are required, alongside new resources and much more.
Blood and Ice Brings a New Ice Region with 35 Hours of Gameplay
The new map arriving with the update is called Polar Sink, located in the frozen north of Arrakis. It features two distinct biomes: the Tundra, a starting area with relatively manageable temperatures, and the Ice Cap, where extreme cold prevails. Additionally, this location is heavily guarded but also holds valuable ice deposits.
In the Tundra, there are fortified outposts where you will encounter wealthy water-hand families. These families control critical resources and fiercely defend their interests. Over the course of the free DLCs, players must continuously push toward the heavily guarded Ice Cap, as reaching the valuable ice deposits is one of the central objectives.
Furthermore, several new gameplay mechanics are introduced to facilitate survival in the extreme cold. Players can craft various new and powerful items using the new resources. The focus is on ground combat and traversal, accompanied by corresponding new vehicle models.
Ice can be harvested to cool equipment within your base, thereby accelerating production. In total, Blood and Ice offers around 35 hours of new progression—meaning not 35 hours of story content, but time spent unlocking and exploring new features.
Once all local content is completed, you can return to the region at any time to farm resources. Additionally, further incentives to return are planned for the future.
New Events and a Cosmetic Shop for Dune Awakening
Funcom intends to continue releasing major in-game events in the future. The Scourge event is currently active, featuring a mysterious disease spreading across Arrakis. As a player, your role is to investigate the origins of this illness.
Shortly after the release of Blood and Ice, the Water Crisis event is scheduled to launch. In this event, a severe water shortage threatens Arrakis, and players must fight over the scarce supplies. This event introduces new gameplay mechanics, locations, stories, and several free rewards.
Starting December 1, a dedicated event tab will be available, allowing you to track your progress and rewards. All events can be completed in both single-player and multiplayer modes.
Moreover, an optional cosmetic shop will be introduced. There, you can acquire new outfits for your character, vehicle variants, base customization options, and even some designs inspired by the Dune films. Initially, the shop’s inventory will rotate periodically, but a full catalog is planned for later.
Offline Single-Player and Crossplay Are Also Coming
Alongside Blood and Ice, the December 1 update brings several new features. Particularly noteworthy is the first update catering to players who prefer to experience Dune: Awakening solo. In November 2026, an offline single-player mode will be introduced, allowing gameplay without an active internet connection.
Beginning in January 2027, players will have the option to copy characters from multiplayer servers to single-player, and vice versa. On PC, the ability to host private servers will also be implemented. In addition, full crossplay is on the horizon, alongside further planned updates.
Conclusion: Is a Return to Arrakis Worth It?
Blood and Ice provides an engaging departure from the traditional desert environment. The new ice region fundamentally alters the survival mechanics, and 35 hours of extra progression is highly impressive for a free expansion.
The long-term plans for offline single-player and crossplay are also remarkably positive. The real-money cosmetic shop will likely receive a mixed reception from the player base. With further free updates planned, Dune: Awakening could remain a compelling title well into 2027. If you are looking to start playing now, you can find Dune: Awakening at the best price on AllKeyShop.
Hey, I’m Kilian, but online you’ll probably know me as “Tux1243.” I've been part of the team for almost two years now, always trying to keep you in the loop with the latest and coolest gaming news. I also have a huge passion for doing deep dives and detailed analyses of entire game series and franchises. I love getting to the bottom of things and exploring the little details and backstories that make game worlds so fascinating.
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