Noticeably different from the adventure-strategy format of rival game Dune, (also released by publisher Virgin Games in the same year), Westwood’s Dune II is widely considered the father of real-time strategy games. Although Herzog Zwei predated it by several years, Dune II set a benchmark for RTS games that would become the norm for decades.
As a player you get to choose one of three houses and battle for control of the planet Arrakis, the only place in the universe where the mystical substance called spice is to be found. Harvesting spice from the sand dunes allows it to be refined and converted into credits. These are then spent on building units to aid you in your conquest, and “he who controls the spice controls the universe”.
Each of the houses has a distinct personality which is reflected by the units under their command. House Atreides favours guerrilla warfare and allies itself with the Freman, natives of Arrakis, while House Harkonnen uses its wealth to field armies of huge battle tanks. The final house, Ordos, favours stealth, saboteurs and chemical weapons.
Over the course of a multi-mission campaign you must first establish a base before attempting to overthrow the rival houses and take control of Arrakis and its Spice reserves, leading to one of three endings depending on the house you chose.
This game would mark the beginning of a gaming dynasty for Westwood. Building on the success of Dune II the critically acclaimed Command & Conquer followed leading to a RTS franchise which dominated the next decade.
Review By Richard
English 
Spanish 
Italian 
French 
German 
Comments and reviews
Dune II is worth playing, especially if you're a fan of RTS games. This is one of the very first ever, and it's good to know how far the genre has come, while at the same time, it had a pretty strong start with this game. There's a review of the game if you want to just check that out first before downloading and giving it a whirl.
https://www.retrogaminggeek.com/dune-ii-the-building-of-a-dynasty/
the zip file provided contains version 1.0 but the exe has either been modified/corrupted, the supplied official 1.07 patch fails to apply with error "ept036: Invalid copy of file found. No update can be done"
Popular open source ports for Windows:
Dune Legacy - Faithful Remake of Dune II with modern enhancements for modern OS's.
Dune Dynasty - Modernizing and expanding Dune II while adding new features and gameplay improvements that weren't in the original game.
https://github.com/henricj/dunelegacy
https://github.com/gameflorist/dunedynasty
All you need is a few files from the original game (from the ISO file for example, use 7zip to open it), and drag and drop them to the ports data or game folder.
I want to play !!!!!!
English/Spanish/Italian floppies :
https://archive.org/details/Dune2TheBattleOfArrakisVirginGamesENITSP199235Kryoflux.7z
Update to my previous comment:
After applying the unofficial patch, the game is not cracked. I was unable to find a ready-made crack for this version, so had to apply the crack manually by editing DUNE2.EXE in a hex editor:
Search: 83 C4 08 0B C0 74 42
Replace: 74 with EB
Save.
Any answer is now correct.
I installed from the ISO version. It is already version 1.07 so only the unofficial patch is needed and the one to apply is HITSQUAD.
Patch 1.07 patches DUNE.PAK successfully and then tries to patch DUNE2.EXE and stops with "error ept036: Invalid copy of file found. No update can be done." What can be done about this?
Is it normal that there is no possibility to save the game?
@CharaxS uploaded proper files from PCGW page
You’re missing the official 1.07 patch. The patch you included is the unofficial 1.07 patch that you run AFTER applying the official patch.
So, the official patch 1.07 is easily available elsewhere but when I apply it to the game, there is some sort of versioning error (is the UK version different than the US version?).
It’s a pretty important patch to apply. Currently having an issue with the starport not actually delivering what was ordered.
Anyone have a version of the official patch that works with the base game here? If not, I will have to reinstall the base game from a different source (which I would rather not do).
The art style reminds me of Heroes of Might and Magic II, both are nostalgic gold classic
fantastic game with tactics
DRM check is "WOR"
Great game (:
A fantastic game. But you can play it with some small improvements. Take this version and go for
https://dunelegacy.sourceforge.net/website/
Then you will get the whole Dune 2 feeling on modern machines. With a level editor and multi selection for units. Even multiplayer is on board.
Great RTS - a precursor to all the RTS as we know. I completed it several times on Amiga as well as MS-DOS version.
The game seems to run just fine after the first time I answer the security question in the early part of the game. When I get asked the security question a second time before one of the last missions, the game freezes even though I am answering the question correctly. Any suggestions?
Hi, I just finished my new Sandworm update that allows the user to actually train sandworms from the barracks and order them from the CHOAM. My update works for Dune II and Super Dune II. If you are interested in having my update, please email me at jessemiv@yahoo.com.
my first words were cd dune :D
love this port!
last mission cant build any troops or units its odd the game has worked perfect up to now
this is the best game ever ! The soundtracks are great. I played the german version and the speech translation is funny and epic :-) I had it on a USB Stick on mp3 in my car, very nice :-) westwood, thank you for the great game. Works great on DosBox with Adlib Sound, perfect. Played in 2023 incredible... back to the roots :-P
I just want to try it.
Yes to play this game on the amega and I love it now hope to play again thanks
I cry sometimes thinking of this game while i sleep at night.
This was the first game i downloaded (before internet) by a modem with 12 bauds capacity. It took 1 hour/Mb so 4 hours together and it cost me a larger phone-bill, but it was worth it. I have always loved The game (and The Books).
I spent so much time on this game in my youth. I am so happy to be able to play it again. I cannot thank you enough for making this available. Is there any way to make it full screen?
For those asking how to play this game in DOSBOX, there is literally a 'How to play Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty' section on this very page which describes how to play this game in DOSBOX. It's right above the pictures. I want to say something snarky but I'll just leave it there.
How do I get the game to run using DOSBOX?
I played this back in the day. While it gets credit for starting a whole genre (I mean, it had to have done something right to inpire command and conquer) the fact that you can't select multiple units makes it soo clunky to play. I have memories of when it was time to attack the enemy base, frantically scrolling back and forth to select a unit, order it to the enemy base, over and over again. I was aware of how clunky it was at the time, so this isn't just my modern context speaking. How the devs could have gotten so much right, and gotten that one thing just so wrong I will never know.
the unofficial patch wont seem to work applied to the fresh 1.0 version,since is a fix for the 1.7, would be nice to have the patch itself here
great game from the past , was also a editor so you could use any houses troops and weapons
This my game of my youth. Incredible, and...
This game was epic in its day, I was around 12 when my dad's friend brought the game over in its new box......I remember nights staying up all night with my dad playing......it's replayability is great, as you will want to beat it with each of the classes.....I still remember the smell of the games old box, it was hard to beat a few of the end game levels but that's what made it do fun to play, u had to come up with different base strategies to win, I do remember one level requiring you to build a base with a million Turrets and wave after wave of enemies marched into my Turrets Death Field......if u love Games and haven't played this one it's a must!!!! also as a Fan of the Movie it's nice that it has alot of it in the game itself........
The Great Game! Thx a lot!
When I was 12 I played this game for the first time. A whole new world opened and never closed!
Ordos, level 5, can't create siege tanks, this is true with many copies of this game.
Bob you dumb ass...
There are so many crybabies here that can't beat the game lmao, i beat it so easily and i found it very fun, a classic and great game.
Dune 2 and Xcom foundations of strategy gaming
AI so overpowered!?! I played this game in middle school when it first came out. I remembered how fun this game was. It was challenging but very beatable. I can't wait to play this game again. =)
Look I may not have been born at the right time to play this when it came out, but I love it. I was brought up playing orginal X box games, and playing strategy games is what lead me to this gem. I think its hard, but its fair. If you think about it warfare is hard, and no game is meant to be quick and easy. So to any of you asshats complaining that its too hard, or the AI is to powerful, then go back to your newer easier games, with difficulty settings. Thats part of this games charm, its hard. Its meant to be. So I say bring the challenge. I mean no offense to any of the gamers that played this when they were young, and would be honored if you were to teach me a few tricks and tips. I give it 5/5. Please, play it for yourself, and learn the controls, it isnt too hard.
Great thanks!
This game was my gaming crack in the early 90s. It doesn't get the credit it deserves. I think a brand new Dune game would be amazing. I'd even take a remake of this or Dune 2000 but, all new, that would be an old gamer's dream. The Dune IP has so much more to offer.
been playing this game ever since it came out. never got tired of it. best game ever! 2020 and still playing the game.
For those who say that AI is very powerful, it just means you´re not skilled enough. Back in the day, let´s say 93, 94, 95... this game was the top of the league for strategtic games.
I just know that the people here bashing the game are like 16 or 20 years old. You don't know that there wasn't anything like this ever, until Dune II came out. All those strategic games you play now, with advanced skills and playability.. you can thank Dune II.
Also it's fun watch some kid trying to rate it: " I give it four stars for graphics, and a one star for playability." or "Avoid, 1/10 for sure". I mean no one wants to know your opinion nor the game needs approval from anyone. Enjoy it or go back to your Pokemons!
I play this on youtube god I am so spoiled by new RTS this in comparison is really hard, I found it so easy when I was at school around 27 years ago.
AgeOfChange on youtube.
This game should be number 1 in the list. This game is PC-DOS at its best!
I love this game
I have the same game for Sega Genesis Rom, You can find it on any Emulators and rom download site or where i can upload it?
this is my mail
davehi2500@gmail.com
I have the same game for Sega Genesis Rom, You can find it on any Emulators and rom download site or where i can upload it?
Love that game. I completed all houses multiple times on the PC since 1992, and have also completed all houses on the android vesion. My absolute best game.
Hey, KC, do you know how to setup a DOSBox, deflate the ZIP, paste the contents on a folder and run it?
Millennials...
I don't agree with all the hype of this game. Way too much management required, I mean you must do EVERYTHING which makes the game impossible to enjoy. The first two levels maybe, but in the advanced levels all you do for hours is make, send, repair. Make, send, repair. Make, send, repair. Now tell me, doesn't that sound fun? I give it four stars for graphics, and a one star for playability.
I downloaded the ISO version offered on this page and tried to use Boxer to run the game in DOS on my Mac. Boxer gives me this error:
Dune 2 - ISO does not contain any MS-DOS programs.
I have not tried the other downloads offered on this page.
Dune 2 is amazing it made a great novel into a great strategy game this game is revolutionary later Westwood studios would do the awesome command and conquer series.
Not sure if this is pre cracked or not but I found a crack for the game here: http://www.gamers.org/pub/games/uwp-uml/romulus/cracks/dune2.txt
Not sure if it works on the unofficial patches, but given they're technically the same files it should. You can also find a "universal" game cracker for dos here: http://www.gamers.org/pub/games/uwp-uml/romulus/cracks/cracker.arj
You write text files with file and offset information and the program reads and changes it to so when opened by it.
Also it's worth noting that calling the second download for the DOS version the "French" version is misleading as it actually has English French and German. It's know as the European release in the community.
Thank's very much i love this game !!!!
One of the all time best.
Amiga !!!
Wormsign!
Still the only RTS I've ever really, REALLY enjoyed.
I cannot believe this is not in the top 10. Next to the amazing gameplay the guys at DOSBOX choose the Harkonnen mentor as their icon.
how can I use my mouse to play it ?
1 of the best games in is days
manual (from Westwood Studios):
EDIT: Thx fdisk !
I played this game on my phone! Superb game!!
The problem is dealt with now, nvm!
Now to figure out how I can put Windows 8 to 32 bits
This game was the best game ever. Played it dead!
But now that I'm reviving it for myself, I bumped up against a technical issue with the dosbox.
I can't enter the setup.exe. It stops at language selection. No matter if I choose english, french or german, the dosbox gives this error:
"IO error with SETUPENG.DIP (2) - exiting"
The same turns out with the other two languages, but then saying SETUPFRE.DIP and SETUPGER.DIP.
Anyone know what's up here?
This game was pure sex for me growing up. Love it wish I could play it on my phone.
I still have bad dreams about the sand worms. I remember vivid dreams of desert battles after playing this game. Actually, the problem may have been that I read the dune books, watched the 3-part TV series, the movie, and played the game all at the same time - at a very delicate age :P
Yoww. Looks great. I suggests everyone to play it.
This game was the first game I really got hooked on. I remember my father coming home with a case of floppies on the day of the release and I would just sit for hours between me coming home from school and him coming home from work (and shooing me away from the computer so he could play).
This game helped me learn English (as I'm not a native English speaker) and the music is etched to my mind to this day.
The game that really started the genre that Command & Conquer gets credit for. As far as I know this is the first game that you needed to build slabs to bulid silos to store spice and so on..
One of the real great games in my opinion.
dune 2 brings back a lot of memories ah the old days
REally cool
COOL GAME
xtra
Ahhh, Dune 2, what fond memories...
Actually, the first game I ever played on a PC with a Soundblaster sound card! I remember my mom paniqued cauz she thought there was strangers in the basement with me. I had to show her that the "voices" she heard came from the game!
oh my old game !! i like it ! ^_^
I rate this game as one of my best ever
Call me dumb, but i bought every title of the Dune-Series since Dune-CD.. It's a "must-have" :D
LegendKingY2j Forever!!!!
thinking of younger days and make me feel like a youngster again
For me this is one of the most genius games ever made!
The modernized 3D sequel to it is "Emperor".
I always prefered Dune over Command&Conquer which is also a good game.
i rate this game 10/10
This game is a little primitive, but its a legacy game, and has a number of fun features, mining the spice, running from sandworms, a special attack unique to your house, and ordering military hardware by spaceport.
You cannot group units and give them multiple orders, the AI will attack in always the same place, and the play is limited and linear. Nonetheless, this game is worth playing.
I spent many hours getting my assets destroyed in this game.
Many an hour I have wasted on this. I use wasted in the nicest of terms :D
Since I came later I can agree with both of you ;D
Many addicted hours on this one.... great game
Sorry Feyd i have to disagree with you...
Its not one of the greatest games. It is the greatest game:D
The ancestor of warcaft style strategic games. One of the greats games of the old days.
The first RTS I played (maybe the first). It's the father of games like Warcraft or Command & Conquer.
No comment nor review for this game at the moment.