Dune: Awakening Blood and Ice Expansion Launches December 1

The world of Dune: Awakening is about to grow with a new destination in the frozen north of Arrakis. On October 29, Funcom officially unveiled Blood and Ice, a free expansion scheduled to launch on December 1, 2026, for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Available at no additional cost to owners of the game, it introduces the Polar Sink map alongside cold-weather survival challenges, new resources, and additions to character and vehicle progression. For players preparing to explore this unfamiliar region, adapting to the cold will be an essential part of the journey.

What does Blood and Ice offer beyond a new region?

Since launch, Dune: Awakening has continued to grow through free updates and paid DLC. Among those additions, the Lost Harvest expansion introduced a standalone storyline that gave players another opportunity to explore Arrakis. Blood and Ice continues that development with a new region where players will need to adapt the survival skills they learned in the desert to withstand freezing conditions.

That destination is Polar Sink, which comprises two biomes: the tundra and the ice cap. Here, wealthy Water Shipper families control valuable resources. Players will need to find their way into guarded territory while preparing equipment capable of withstanding the harsh climate.

According to Funcom, Blood and Ice will offer around 35 hours of new progression. Traversal, temperature management and combat will play important roles throughout the journey, with the main additions including:

• Equipment for cold-weather survival: players will need to upgrade their gear and gather resources unique to Polar Sink to craft new survival equipment.
• Ice harvesting: after reaching the ice cap, players can harvest ice to cool equipment at their bases and speed up production.
• New upgrade options: the expansion introduces vehicle modules, augments and specialization traits, building on the game’s existing systems.

The practical use of ice is particularly noteworthy. By supporting production back at the base, this resource gives players a reason to return to Polar Sink after their initial expedition. Funcom also says future updates will provide further reasons to revisit the region, although it has yet to share the details.

Blood and Ice will also introduce a dedicated Events tab in the main menu. Players will be able to use it to track their event progress and view the available rewards.

Shortly after the expansion launches, the Water Crisis event will have players fighting for scarce water supplies and working to resolve the shortage. An exact release date has not yet been announced. Funcom has confirmed that events will support both single-player and multiplayer, allowing players to choose how they take part.

Alongside Blood and Ice, Funcom has outlined the planned release windows for several features requested by the community:

• November 2026: offline single-player support, allowing the game to be played without an internet connection.
• January 2027: full cross-play, enabling players across supported platforms to play together.
• Also in January 2027: character copying from multiplayer servers to single-player, as well as from single-player to select private servers. The receiving server must allow copied characters.

These features will follow their own rollout schedule, while Blood and Ice and its Polar Sink map remain scheduled for December 1.

With a new map, resources that benefit base operations, and additions to existing upgrade systems, Blood and Ice offers plenty to interest players looking to explore more of Arrakis. Making the expansion free also gives existing owners an opportunity to return without purchasing another content pack. Visit Funcom’s official announcement to learn more, and don’t forget to check our price comparison platform to buy Dune: Awakening and it's DLCs at the best available prices before the next adventure begins.