Funcom has put out a new deep dive on the console version of Dune: Awakening, locking in 22 September for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S launch. The game has been out on PC for just over a year, and everything added since launch comes across on day one, including fully optional PvP, a bigger late game, and new locations and missions. Both PS5 and Series X get a Performance Mode targeting 60fps.

The bigger news for anyone who bounced off the words "survival MMO" is that the full game can now be played entirely in single-player. There are sliders for just about everything, harvesting rates, experience gain, combat difficulty, so you set the pace instead of the server setting it for you. The console release also brings the finale of Book One, meaning the whole cinematic storyline can be played start to finish.

And here's the part that made me smile. The PS5 version is getting a physical edition on shelves in Australia and New Zealand from 22 September, with Funcom teaming up with Bandai Namco for the ANZ retail run. Pre-orders opened at the end of last week through retailers like Amazon and EB Games. A brand-new game committing to a disc in the same month Sony confirmed it's winding down disc production from 2028 is a nice bit of timing. Digital pre-orders have been live on the PlayStation and Xbox stores since June, in base, Deluxe and Ultimate flavours, with any pre-order getting the Terrarium of Muad'Dib base decoration and the Deluxe and Ultimate versions adding a 5 day head start.

Worth noting for the Christmas planners: the third Dune film hits cinemas on 18 December, so expect the sandworm hype to be everywhere by then.