[Update #2]: Shiro Games have finally announced a release date for Dune: Spice Wars - April 26th, 2022!

[Update]: The very first gameplay preview for Dune: Spice Wars has now been unleashed!

After proving themselves as capable RTS developers with the excellent Northgard, Shiro Games have now set their sights on something a bit more ambitious - a real-time 4X game. Set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe, the recently announced Dune: Spice Wars will be all about using subterfuge, political intrigue, economic supremacy, and as is tradition, all-out warfare in order to expand and solidify your faction's hold on the desert planet.

While there is no gameplay preview available just yet, you can get a bit of an idea of the sort of tone Shiro Games are going for through the brief announcement trailer. Have a look:

Much like Northgard, Dune: Spice Wars will launch as a part of Steam's Early Access program. The initial version will have most of the main gameplay mechanics already accounted for, while future updates will add extra features like multiplayer, a full singleplayer campaign, a new playable faction, and so forth.

The current estimate is that Dune: Spice Wars will arrive at some point in 2022, and that it will stay in Early Access for nine to twelve months. As with every game in development, these are only estimates and it's entirely possible that Dune: Spice Wars will take far longer to get finished. So if you're looking for a fully polished experience, it would be a wise idea to wait until we're closer to the 'proper' launch in order to jump in.

Once Dune: Spice Wars gets an actual release date I'll make sure to let you know. Until then, you can read a little bit more about it over at Steam.