New 'Dune' Games Coming In The Future, Starting With An Open-World One

Norway-based studio Funcom -- who has made a name for itself over the years by releasing MMORPGs such as Conan and The Secret World -- has announced a partnership with Legendary Studios that will see it creating games in the Dune universe, starting with an open-world multiplayer game that will begin development this year.

The new partnership comes during a time of resurgence for the classic sci-fi IP, with a new film set to release sometime next year that features a star-heavy cast.

According to Funcom, the partnership will last six years and see it release at least three titles on PC and consoles.

"Entering into this partnership is in line with the company’s strategy of working with strong Intellectual Properties, allowing for two different vast and well known universes – Conan and Dune – to be available for the company’s games," said Funcom in an official press release.

CEO of Funcom, Rui Casais, adds:

"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."

If you're a Dune fan, you'll know we haven't seen a video game from the IP in quite sometime. More specifically, the last Dune game to release was all the way back in 2001 from Cryo Interactive. So, it's been awhile. And to go from no Dune games in 18 years to three in the next six years probably has fans of the sci-fi series thinking they are in a dream right now.