That Time A ‘Dune’ Game Destroyed Its Publisher

Dune Awakening will break away from the more common RTS mold of Dune games and will instead be an MMORPG, a strange choice considering how a mostly deserted planet is probably not the place best suited for varied and non-repetitive quests and social interaction. The graphics of the video look neat, sure, but do you know what also looked pretty? ‘Frank Herbert’s Dune‘ – no, not the book – a game that used not only the property’s name but also the name of the writer and it still forced publisher Cryo Interactive to file for bankruptcy.

Interestingly, this wasn’t a direct adaptation of the book but rather an adaptation of those weird ‘00s made-for-tv Dune tv series. Haven’t seen those? Picture the David Lynch Dune with a lower budget, or, better yet, check out this clip that somehow looks worse than the video game.