There are very few people like Warframe‘s creative director, Rebecca Ford. As I sit with her in Digital Extremes’ absolutely stunning streaming room (featuring Warframe merch galore, and a vaguely creepy rocking horse), she exudes an excitement that, quite honestly, is infectious. She tells me about Whispers in the Walls, the RPG game‘s newest content drop, and when I ask her how she plans to keep the momentum going from one story arc to another, she hits me with a playful yet knowing smile.
“Because I’ve been so deep in Warframe for 11 years, I know the beat of the drum,” she tells PCGamesN. “I know when we’re falling behind, and I know when we could use a breather. It’s really my job.
“Everyone out there is the master of the instruments and I’m just a conductor,” she continues. “So, if I need to slow the tempo, I will. Ultimately, for me, I know what I want each beat to be, I know what I want the next two or three years to be, and I know what development time will take to get there.
“If I ever feel like we’re falling behind, it’s about asking ‘what can we do that’s very classic Warframe to keep players engaged,’ and then continue the cinematic story – I don’t ever want to rush that.”
Whispers in the Walls takes us on a journey into the bowels of Entrati’s underground laboratory, which is infested with vicious Necramechs. While we don’t know much about the mysterious Sleeper, what we do know is that something lurks in the dark, and it’s most certainly dangerous.
It’s a new age of Warframe, which comes with its own expectations, but Ford reassures me that the team isn’t going to stumble – in fact, there’s a wealth of content planned.
“If we do fall a little behind we will continue to release bite-size updates like the ones we’ve been doing for the last year, like Lua’s Prey and Citrine’s Last Wish.
“Those are like candy to me,” she chuckles. “They’re just injecting the greatness of Warframe really quickly. We’d prepared to do a lot of those as the cinematic arc progresses.”
Of course, there’s more than just Whispers in the Walls to get excited about. There’s the upcoming Abyss of Dagath update, Warframe cross-progression (yes, really), and, my personal favorite, Warframe 1999, which channels Metal Gear Solid in all the best ways possible. It’s a good time to be a Warframe fan, isn’t it?
With Whispers in the Walls lurking on the horizon, check out our list of the best Warframe builds, as well as our rundown of the best ninja games to ensure you’re ready for whatever The Sleeper has in store.