Dune: Awakening's free Blood and Ice expansion swaps sand for snow on 1st December

Funcom's survival MMO, Dune: Awakening, is introducing a free expansion called Blood and Ice on December 1st. This expansion swaps the desert setting of Arrakis for a new map called the Polar Sink, set in a frozen environment. The update promises around 35 hours of new progression content and introduces new vehicle modules, augments, and specialisation traits.

Players will need to adapt to a new survival loop, focusing on finding ways to stay warm and upgrading gear with resources available in the Polar Sink. The map is divided into two biomes: the tundra, where players start among wealthy water shipper families in lavish strongholds, and the heavily guarded ice cap. Harvesting ice in the ice cap can cool base equipment and speed up production.

Funcom emphasizes that the expansion brings the focus back to ground-level survival, with traversal, temperature management, and combat playing vital roles in progression. Future updates will add more reasons to revisit the region. Additionally, an Events tab in the main menu will introduce new events, such as the Water Crisis, which can be completed in both single-player and multiplayer modes, with free rewards.

A new cosmetics store will also launch shortly after the expansion, funded to support ongoing development and free updates. The store will initially feature items inspired by the Dune films, particularly in anticipation of the Dune: Part Three movie release this December, with the intention of eventually offering the full catalogue of items continuously.

Other requested community features are on the horizon, including offline single-player support and the ability to transfer characters between multiplayer and single-player servers, as well as cross-play compatibility, all set to arrive in January 2027. Funcom expresses that they are "far from done" and has ambitious plans for the year ahead, including major free updates in 2027.

The studio has seen over a million new players joining since the game's console launch, alongside a new endgame, three DLCs, and the conclusion of the first story arc, Book One.