Yeah, the original sandworm that was shown off was basically a demo. There are plans to actually have the sandworm on a desert-like moon/planet that’s on the other side of the galaxy.

When I say “closer” what I mean is that we’re starting to see fauna in-game with some workable AI and that jump gates will finally allow us to explore other systems…

Unfortunately, I would still not expect to see these sandworms anytime this year or the next. Right now 3 years would be my guess. But there are so many systems and features that will need to get in first. Pile on the tech debt and it could easily take longer.