I have a confession: every time I see a lasgun in a Dune game, I instinctively duck. Not because I expect a sandworm to pop out of my monitor, but because in Frank Herbert’s universe, pointing a laser at a shield is basically asking the cosmos to delete you and everyone within a very generous blast radius. So imagine my relief when I learned that Dune: Awakening—Funcom’s survival MMO set on Arrakis—has quietly built a safety switch into every CHOAM-imported lasgun. Yes, the nuclear explosion is off the menu. No, you can’t recreate the most catastrophic science experiment in galactic history just to see what happens. And honestly? That’s probably for the best.
Let’s back up. In the novels, lasgun beams interacting with Holtzman shields produce a massive nuclear explosion. Ships, buildings, even individual people wear shields, which means a single itchy trigger finger could turn a polite skirmish into a glowing crater. Dune: Awakening creative director Joel Bylos confirmed at a hands-off preview event that Funcom didn’t want that headache. In their story, there was an “incident” with a lasgun and a shield, and after that, all CHOAM-imported lasguns got a built-in safety: aim at a shield, and the weapon simply turns off. Poof. No boom. No angry letters from the neighborhood association. Just a sad little click and a lesson in workplace safety.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Wouldn’t constant nuclear explosions be fun? Funcom actually tried that. Bylos described a prototype that felt like Ghostbusters—you know, when they cross the streams and everything gets unstable. The lasgun would start shaking, and then both players would explode in a nuclear blast. Sounds hilarious, right? Except it was also a little tacky, and more importantly, it wasn’t fun for anyone except the person who caused it. Who among us hasn’t wanted to be the human equivalent of a “delete” button? But an MMO where every PvP fight ends in a mushroom cloud gets old faster than a Fremen’s water discipline. So Funcom scrapped it, talked with Legendary and the Herbert family, and got sign-off on the safety-switch solution. Lore preserved, gameplay saved, and my eyebrows remain un-singed.
| Weapon / Tech | What it does | My reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Lasgun | Powerful laser-like weapon; shuts off if aimed at a shield | 😌 “Thank you for not nuking my base” |
| Shields | Defensive forcefields used on ships, buildings, and people | 🛡️ “Please don’t cross the streams” |
| Knives & swords | Melee weapons that can penetrate shields | 🔪 “Finally, a fair fight” |
| Ornithopters | Vehicles for getting around Arrakis | 🚁 “Does it come with cup holders?” |
| Projectile weapons | Good old-fashioned ranged combat | 🎯 “No nuclear fallout, just bullets” |
So what does this mean for actual gameplay? It means you can carry a lasgun without worrying that a stray shield bubble will vaporize your entire squad. You can fight with knives and swords that slip through shields, zip around in ornithopters, and use projectile weapons without turning Arrakis into a second sun. The lasgun-shield interaction is still part of the lore—Funcom didn’t erase it; they explained why it can’t happen in their game. That’s a clever bit of world-building gymnastics, and I appreciate it. Do I wish I could trigger one tiny nuclear explosion just to see the physics engine cry? Maybe. But I also like my characters not being radioactive dust.
As of 2026, Dune: Awakening is still slated for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, though Funcom has been tighter-lipped than a Fremen about an exact release date. The closed beta signup is still the golden ticket if you want to poke at the sands early. Will I be there? Absolutely. Will I aim a lasgun at a shield just to test the safety switch? You bet. And will I laugh when it turns off automatically instead of ending my entire playthrough? Probably. After all, isn’t that the most responsible kind of chaos?