Warframe

Warframe is a free-to-play cooperative action game developed and published by Canadian studio Digital Extremes. It launched for Windows in March 2013, before reaching PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and later hardware. Players control members of the Tenno, warriors awakened from cryosleep in a far-future Solar System. Their enemies include the militarized Grineer, the profit-driven Corpus, and the parasitic Infested.

The game's title refers to Warframes, distinct combat bodies with their own abilities. Excalibur, Mag, and Volt are the three starter choices. Missions take place across a star chart encompassing planets, moons, and other locations. Players gather resources, craft weapons and Warframes in the Foundry, and improve equipment using upgrade cards called mods. Affinity levels equipment, while Mastery Rank reflects broader account progression. Platinum, the premium currency, can buy cosmetics and many convenience items; players can also trade certain items for it.

Warframe's early missions introduce Lotus, who guides the Tenno. The 2015 quest The Second Dream reveals that the Tenno are human Operators who control Warframes through Transference. The War Within expands their powers and centers on the Grineer Queens. The Sacrifice explores Excalibur Umbra and the origins of Warframes. In The New War, the Tenno confront Ballas and the authoritarian Narmer regime. These quests are significant departures from the game's initially sparse storytelling.

Digital Extremes has repeatedly expanded the setting beyond corridor missions. Plains of Eidolon, released in 2017, introduced a large explorable area on Earth near Cetus. Fortuna, added in 2018, brought the snow-covered Orb Vallis on Venus and a story involving debt-bonded workers under Corpus rule. The Heart of Deimos introduced the Cambion Drift and the Entrati family in 2020. Railjack missions let crews pilot and defend a customizable spacecraft. The Duviri Paradox added a separate, roguelike-influenced experience within the surreal Duviri landscape.

Warframe is also known for its unusual development history. Digital Extremes announced updates at TennoCon, its annual community convention, and has used developer streams to discuss upcoming features. The game's business model does not require purchasing its story quests; its paid offerings include Platinum and Prime Access packs. Prime Warframes are enhanced variants typically associated with Void Relics. Regular content releases have changed both the mechanics and the lore: the 2024 update Warframe: 1999 takes players to Höllvania, featuring the Hex, a group of Protoframes, and music by fictional boy band On-lyne. Its setting contrasts sharply with the game's original far-future battlefields.