In terms of DUNE, Frank Herbert's classic science fiction series, the only real game of note that we've seen in the past was Dune II from Westwood Studios. A title that helped define the real-time strategy genre in the '90s. With a new DUNE film currently in production, from acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve - Conan Exiles studio Funcom has just acquired the rights for future DUNE games.

Where it plans to begin development on its first DUNE game later this year.

“Funcom has a strong history of working with beloved sci-fi/fantasy intellectual properties including our bestsellers Age of Conan and Conan Exiles,” said Funcom CEO, Rui Casais. “So many of us at Funcom, myself included, are huge fans of Frank Herbert’s work and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Legendary to bring the iconic DUNE universe to life for gamers all over the globe.”

As a sci-fi property no doubt there's a lot of potential to create a great looking title set in the DUNE universe. So, the question is will the game follow in the footsteps of Conan Exiles as a survival thing or Age of Conan's MMO-ambition.