'The unimaginable has happened'—Dune: Awakening's player count drops below Funcom's other survival game released eight years ago, as engagement with Arrakis dries up

Things aren't looking so hot for Funcom's sci-fi desert survival MMO Dune: Awakening. After the strongest launch in the Norwegian studio's history, Funcom announced layoffs at the start of October, citing a shift from "development to long-term operation" as well as an upcoming console launch as the reasons for restructuring.

But there may be another reason behind those layoffs, namely that the player count for Dune: Awakening is dwindling. In fact, for the first time since Dune: Awakening launched...