Nova Empire

VS

Dune: Awakening

Nova Empire is a persistent online space strategy game known for its mobile presence but also available on Windows. Released in 2022, it is a niche title in the 4X/strategy space and does not have the visibility or player retention of top strategy MMOs. Such games typically maintain a small but loyal player base a couple of years post launch unless heavily promoted. Rough industry trends point to a few thousand daily active players for a game of this scale and age.

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))