Dire Wolf and Dune: Imperium had quite a Gen Con last weekend, winning the Dice Tower Award for Best Expansion and dropping two huge updates: UPRISING, a new release in the Dune: Imperium game series, and Dune: Imperium Digital hitting Steam… both coming in 2023!
From the new awards and releases, to the North American Championships, to the sold-out inventory, to finally playing Dune: Imperium on my PC with friends around the world… it’s just astounding to see just how far Dune: Imperium has come. Simply being able to share in the genuine joy that this game has brought into people’s lives and love for Dune…. I can’t help but feel grateful to be a part of something this special. To so many people, myself most certainly included.
After all, it was five years ago back when we first announced that Gale Force Nine and Genuine had acquired the master tabletop gaming rights for the Dune franchise. Five years since I walked into Dire Wolf’s booth at Gen Con 2018 and asked the CEO, “Wanna play?” Yet back then, I wasn’t aspiring toward anything like this. I just wanted to deliver upon my promises and make something worthy of DUNE — a fandom and fictional universe so big in my own life, it feels disrespectful to not write the name in all caps. DUNE. To curate an ongoing program of new and original tabletop games, with a variety of different publishers and play styles, no less… it was ambitious, to say the least.
And yet here we are. And not just with Dune: Imperium, but also our award-winning RPG with Modiphius, our numerous best-sellers and award winners with Gale Force Nine, our upcoming Dune: War for Arrakis with CMON, and so much more to come. It’s just daunting to look back and embrace that this has become such a meaningful part of my life. That I’ve spent five years working and playing in the Dune universe with so many wonderful people and partners. Five years bringing one passion project after another to players around the world. And after five years, Dune is still just getting warmed up. And so am I.
Back in 2018, I couldn’t have predicted or even believed that I’d be here today. So where will I be in five years from now? With Shai-Hulud’s good graces, I can only hope that I’ll still be there in the aisles at Gen Con. Still making new announcements, winning new awards, and sharing new experiences and memories with friends and Dune fans new and old. So forgive me if I’m a little nostalgic and schmaltzy today. These past five years have been such an honor. It’s changed me and my life for the better. And I cannot wait to see where the next five years take us.
