More than a decade since launch, Warframe is still one of the most successful MMOs around. Digital Extremes' sci-fi universe keeps getting bigger - especially now that we're headed to Tau. In a recent interview with PCGamesN at Tennocon, we talked to Digital Extremes' senior community manager Sarah Asselin and COO Sheldon Carter about the studio's newest project: Soulframe. A dark fantasy MMO with weighty combat and a focus on exploration, it's a game we've been patiently waiting for. According to the team, though, we may have to wait a little longer.
Digital Extremes has remained tight-lipped on the Soulframe release date for quite some time. In a previous dev stream, however, community director Megan Everett stated that the MMORPG's launch would be a "2025 endeavor," but there's been no firm commitment to a specific date.
So, is Soulframe coming out in full this year, or is Digital Extremes likely to push the game's launch back into 2026? We asked Asselin and Carter just that at Tennocon 2025.
"We're at the point where we have some systems that we want to get feeling great and feeling like they're in a good set place before we open it up completely," Asselin begins. "However, we are opening the doors on Tennocon day to those who have been waiting. That's because we had people sign up a year and a half ago, two years ago, who still haven't got access to the game, but have been waiting.
"This is a little bit like 'Hey, we're not at the point where things are perfect enough to launch, but if you've been waiting all that time and you want to try out Soulframe Preludes as it is today, come on in.' That being said, we're not quite at the place yet where we feel good about opening it completely. We're not giving a complete date as well."
"We've got into a good update schedule where we're getting out those consistent updates." Asselin continues. "That's all things pointing towards 'We're getting close.' Close is relative, but ultimately, just the continued interest and passion and patience from the community, we look at it as such a privilege, and we want to both respect that with how we're allowing people into the game versus waiting."
While the wait is definitely still excruciating, Carter actually sees it as more of a blessing. With early access expectations getting bigger and bigger (just look at how Hades 2 launched), Soulframe can actually afford to take it slow.
"The environment in the industry is really tricky, because there's so many games that come out in early access, and they might truly want to be early access, but they can't be. They have to be basically finished to be early access," Carter explains.
"We're really lucky. We have this, speaking from the Soulframe side, gigantic big brother that takes care of everything. So we can be cautious, and we can really make sure we're doing it right before we don't have to take that plunge the way so many studios have to. It's great to be able to have that."
If you're intrigued by Soulframe, you can get instant access to Preludes (the game's pre-alpha test server) right now to celebrate Tennocon. Note that the servers will close again by end of day on Sunday, so sign up now to ensure you secure your spot.
In the meantime, Digital Extremes just announced two huge new Warframe updates that are coming to the game soon. Carter tells us "sometimes we do something like what we're doing this year which is kind of back to our roots, but that's still different and weird."
Don't forget to check out all the Warframe codes if you're diving in. Otherwise, we've got all the best new MMOs you need to try.
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Additional reporting by Lauren Bergin.