DarkStory Online

VS

Dune: Awakening

DarkStory Online is an indie fantasy MMORPG released in 2016 and developed by BraveWolf. As a small-scale indie MMO, it's likely to have a niche but dedicated community, with estimated daily players in the low hundreds. Older indie MMOs without major publisher backing typically maintain relatively small, loyal user bases after several years on the market.

As of late August 2025, Dune: Awakening had approximately 14,000 concurrent players, reflecting a significant decline from its peak of over 189,000 concurrent players shortly after launch in June 2025. This decrease is attributed to factors such as player burnout, game design issues, and technical problems. Despite these challenges, the developers remain optimistic, citing strong player retention and a 10-year development roadmap that includes plans to explore new planets and regions within the Dune universe. ([gamesradar.com](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/mmo/dune-awakening-dev-says-player-retention-has-been-extremely-good-and-the-mmos-10-year-plan-still-has-so-much-to-pull-from-in-the-lore-well-go-to-new-planets-eventually/?utm_source=openai))