TITLE: Funcom Cuts Jobs After Dune: Awakening’s Record-Breaking Launch
Funcom Announces Staff Reductions Despite Historic Game Success
Funcom, the developer behind the popular survival MMO Dune: Awakening, has confirmed it will be laying off an unspecified number of employees. This announcement comes even as the studio describes the game as the biggest release in its 32-year history.
Record-Breaking Launch Performance
Dune: Awakening launched on PC on June 10, 2025, and immediately demonstrated remarkable commercial success. Within its first month, the game sold over 1 million copies and ranked among June’s most-played titles. The title quickly rose to become one of 2025’s highest-gaming revenue generators.
Development Transition Drives Restructuring
Despite this unprecedented launch performance, the studio is moving forward with workforce reductions. According to the company’s statement, the transition from development to long-term live operations necessitates this restructuring.
“The game has already shown incredible potential and the right way forward is to focus our internal resources on releasing new content, features, and enhancements,” the company explained.
The studio emphasized that shifting from development to ongoing live service operation, while simultaneously preparing for a major console release next year, requires reorganizing teams and reallocating resources across projects and studios.
Support for Affected Employees
Funcom acknowledged the human impact of this decision, stating: “Unfortunately, this means having to say goodbye to cherished colleagues. This difficult process is starting now, and we cannot yet determine the exact impact. We are working to find new opportunities for those affected.”
The company has committed to providing support and guidance to departing team members during this transition.
Recent Game Updates and Future Plans
This staff reduction news follows closely after Funcom released the first major DLC and content update for Dune: Awakening, which included a free weekend to attract new players to the Arrakis experience.
The console version mentioned in the restructuring plans is scheduled to launch approximately one year after the PC release, according to previous announcements from Gamescom 2025.
This development was initially reported by industry monitoring sources covering gaming business news.
