The 4X strategy game set in the Dune universe, Dune: Spice Wars, is coming to PC Game Pass “soon” according to Xbox.
Developed by French outfit Shiro Games, Dune: Spice Wars is currently in early access with a planned 2023 release period. While Xbox announced its November Game Pass lineup a few days ago, Dune Spice Wars wasn't listed. This announcement was saved for Paris Game Week which is ongoing - fitting as Shiro is French.
Xbox released a short trailer accompanying the announcement. The description of the trailer reads, “Dune: Spice Wars, the 4X real-time strategy game set on Arrakis, is coming to PC Game Pass! In addition to this, the major Sand & Air update arrives at the same time, bringing new features, units, and more.”
Air and Sand is the next major update planned for the game. According to the roadmap released in May, the update will feature “Spaceports, ships and other advanced units.” The exact details are unknown, as is the release date. It's likely that the update will be coming in the near future considering its attachment to the game’s launch on PC Game Pass.
We were able to sit down with Shiro Games at Gamescom 2022, where they revealed the biggest challenges in adapting Dune to the 4X genre. Spicing up the arid deserts of Arrakis and balancing the multiplayer component of the game proved big hurdles that Shiro had to overcome.
The November lineup of PC Game Pass includes Pentiment, the narrative RPG from Obsidian that's going to be available on day one and Football Manager 2022, last year’s iteration of the popular football management simulator.
Dune: Spice Wars is currently available exclusively on PC via Steam.