I'm sure it will be targeting a different, more main stream, audience but it is supposed to be an online open world game. I'm guessing it might be a survival type game? This info just came out today.
Thank you for sharing this. I hope they have learned, and launch any Dune games better than they launched Age of Conan. The game had strengths and weaknesses but at launch only the starter island was very good.
I read all the Frank Herbert books - most more than once. I think the series went downhill near the end but that is often true of series like that as the author runs out of steam (and ages and is in worse health). The books after his death - I didn't much like at all.
But I would certainly welcome a MMO set on Arrakis - Caladan - Salusa Secundus - or elsewhere in that universe. Though if it is just starting now we won't see it for a long time unless it is a hastily thrown together piece of rubbish. And as you correctly point out we have no reason to believe there will even be a MMO.
I'm also a big Dune fan (I know that's where your name is from). It was stated, not in that article, that it will be an online open world game...but ya, could be a shooter or an mmo. We don't really know.
I questioned Brian Herbert on facebook about the timeline (he is really good about responding to fans). He said that he wasn't at liberty to discuss the timeline yet and we would have to wait for funcom to reveal that info.
I really enjoy some of the Brian/Kevin books (I know that's not a popular opinion).