Dune: Awakening is shifting away from its PvP endgame, following on from major changes made in its recent chapter three update. In addition, private server hosting is coming, which should provide additional longevity and community hubs for the game in the hands of dedicated players.

In a blog post released by the developers at Funcom, it was announced that all PvP zones will be removed from the Hagga Basin map, plus an alternative instance of the endgame Deep Desert map with PvP totally disabled. For those still eager for PvP, a usual dangerous Deep Desert will still exist, with a 2.5x multiplier to resources gathered.

These changes were explained as such: “By separating these experiences, we allow players to hunt for spice or explore Imperial Testing Stations without the constant threat of a blade in the dark, while ensuring those who live for the thrill of the hunt have a dedicated arena to prove their mettle and the rewards to make it worthwhile.” It was also revealed a whopping 80 percent of lifetime players didn’t engage with PvP at all.

As for private server hosting, it will be available for testing in the near future, with customisable PvP options, resource harvesting rates, and potential character transferred from public servers to these new private ones.

Dune: Awakening’s initial emphasis on a PvP endgame proved controversial among the first wave of players. On one hand, it allowed for fun, organic experiences which forced players to group together for the best loot in the game. However, as best expressed by the aforementioned statistic, the vast majority players didn’t have a taste for it, in spite of the developer’s desires to keep it core to the Dune: Awakening package.

PvP as a central aspect of the gameplay not proving widely popular is far from a Dune: Awakening problem though. The game, as a faithful representation of the Dune universe, wanted a dangerous feeling to permeate the latter stages of progression. However, the game’s peers show a similar trend of slowly leaving PvP to the wayside.

The game, as a mix between an MMO and survival game, has many peers to pick from. The vast majority of popular survival games (aside from Rust, it seems) leave PvP encounters as an optional side activity, whereas the MMO genre is rife with PvP hopeful games which didn’t quite retain a fierce population of competitive players. Throne & Liberty is one such example from last year, as is Fallout 76 which has seen PvP gradually phased out over the years.

Either way, here’s hoping Dune: Awakening can win folks back with this upcoming patch!