With Dune Awakening Solari poised to enter the survival MMO arena like a sandstorm rolling across Arrakis, players are preparing for an expansive experience blending open-world exploration, faction-based warfare, and crafting mechanics inspired by titles like Conan Exiles. In a welcome move for the community, Funcom recently confirmed that rentable private servers will be available at launch. But what exactly do these servers include, and where do they fall short? Here's a detailed breakdown of what players can — and can’t — expect from Dune: Awakening’s private server support at release.

The Basics: What Are Rentable Private Servers?

Private servers are independently-hosted game worlds that players can rent to create tailored multiplayer experiences. For Dune: Awakening, this means you can host your own version of Arrakis — away from the chaos of public servers — and control who joins, how the rules work, and what kind of experience unfolds.

These servers are being made available through third-party hosting providers, similar to Funcom’s previous survival games (Conan Exiles, Age of Conan). This gives players access to stable infrastructure without needing to run dedicated hardware themselves.

What You Do Get With Private Servers

Let’s dig into the confirmed features and advantages private servers will offer from day one.

✅ Control Over Player Access

Whether you’re looking to play with a tight-knit group of friends, run an RP-centric server, or enforce a curated PvP environment, private servers allow you to gatekeep. Admins can whitelist users, kick troublemakers, and ensure the player base aligns with the server’s culture.

This is huge for creators and community leaders who want to avoid trolls or griefers, particularly in a game where base-building, diplomacy, and resources are essential.

✅ Adjustable Rulesets and Server Settings

Want faster harvesting, altered enemy spawn rates, or accelerated XP gain? Like Conan Exiles, Dune: Awakening’s private servers allow for a variety of custom rulesets. These options let you fine-tune gameplay for a more casual sandbox or a hardcore survivalist experience.

Funcom has confirmed a range of tunable parameters at launch — including:

• XP multipliers

• Resource gathering rates

• PvP toggle options

• Day/night cycle duration

• Combat damage scaling

While these aren’t groundbreaking, they’re essential for community servers to differentiate and stand out.

✅ Dedicated Admin Tools

Admins will be able to teleport, spawn items, moderate players, and tweak live variables — all crucial tools for maintaining server health. This also makes it easier for content creators and RP moderators to design narrative events or intervene when things go off-script.

While we haven’t seen the full admin UI yet, screenshots and previews suggest a UI similar to Conan Exiles, with streamlined server-side commands.

✅ Performance Stability (Assuming You Pay for It)

With private hosting comes a level of performance consistency that public servers can’t always promise. Fewer players and more manageable world states reduce lag, rubber-banding, and other issues — as long as you're paying for a decent server tier. Performance is always tied to how much you’re willing to spend.

What You Don’t Get (At Least at Launch)

While the launch-day support for private servers is promising, there are several caveats that prospective admins and players should be aware of. Some of these limitations are likely temporary, while others reflect bigger decisions in the game’s architecture.

❌ No Full Mod Support at Launch

Perhaps the biggest missing feature is modding. As of launch, Dune: Awakening’s private servers do not support mod integration. This may come as a surprise given Funcom’s track record with Conan Exiles, which has one of the richest modding ecosystems in the survival genre.

Developers have stated that mod support is on the roadmap, but it will not be ready for release. That means no custom factions, new building styles, or gameplay overhauls — at least, not right away.

❌ Limited Server Sizes

Another limitation to consider is capped player counts. While Funcom hasn’t disclosed the max concurrent players for private servers, speculation and technical comparisons suggest it may fall somewhere between 40–70 players per server — significantly smaller than the larger shared-world shards in the MMO-like public environment.

For casual groups or mid-sized RP communities, this won’t be a dealbreaker. But if you’re aiming to host epic, large-scale warfare with hundreds of players, private servers won’t match the public shard capacity.

❌ No Cross-Shard Progression

Characters created on private servers are isolated. Progress, loot, and achievements won’t carry over to official shards or other servers. This is typical for survival MMOs, but it’s worth noting for players hoping to treat private servers as “training grounds” before jumping into the wider competitive ecosystem.

If your goal is to progress through global rankings or engage in the meta-politics of Dune’s broader MMO world, private servers won’t get you there.

❌ Economy and Faction Systems May Be Limited

At launch, Dune: Awakening will feature player-driven economies and faction-based politics. However, some of these systems — particularly those tied to server-wide governance or larger inter-server dynamics — may be limited or non-functional on private servers at first.

For example, if the in-game economy is driven by cross-server trade routes or Dune-wide political shifts, private servers may not tie into these systems. Funcom has yet to clarify how much of the economy is shard-local vs. global.

Ideal Use Cases for Private Servers

So, who are these private servers best for?

• Roleplayers who want immersive storytelling without interruption.

• Streamer communities aiming to create viewer-friendly experiences.

• Friends and small groups looking for low-stress, customized survival.

• Modders-in-waiting preparing for eventual content creation.

• PvP clans wanting to practice strategies in a closed environment.

Private servers are essentially creative playgrounds. While they won’t replace the full scope of Dune: Awakening’s MMO ambitions, they offer flexibility and control — two essential ingredients for long-term engagement.

Looking Ahead: What’s Missing Might Still Come

Although certain limitations exist — especially around modding and integration into global systems — the fact that private servers are available at launch is already a significant win for players. Many MMOs and survival titles delay this feature or only implement it after months of community feedback. Funcom seems to be learning from its past and giving players more agency upfront.

If the studio delivers on its promises around modding, better server tools, and improved cross-server features, Dune: Awakening’s private servers could evolve into one of the most robust platforms for user-generated content in the genre.

Final Thoughts

Dune: Awakening enters a competitive landscape, but its inclusion of rentable private servers at launch signals a commitment to player freedom and community-driven playstyles. While they come with clear limitations — especially in terms of scale and mod support — these private worlds will be fertile ground for experimentation, storytelling, and custom survival experiences.

Whether you're a lone Fremen building an oasis, a guild leader forging alliances, or a streamer crafting the next viral RP saga, your version of Arrakis is waiting.

Just be sure to keep an eye out for Buy Dune Awakening Solari sandworms.