Entering its twelfth year, the acclaimed free-to-play action game Warframe continues to thrive. TennoCon 2025, a celebratory event, recently concluded, unveiling a series of exciting announcements and sneak peeks that highlight a promising future for the game. The multi-day convention showcased details regarding upcoming story expansions, fresh Warframes, and granted attendees access to an early alpha version of Digital Extremes’ new fantasy IP, Soulframe.
Furthermore, updates were shared regarding Warframe‘s Android release, with a closed beta planned for this fall.
As is customary with each new Warframe chapter, a new energetic theme song has been created.
This year’s song doesn’t disappoint.
Here’s a breakdown of the five key announcements from the annual fan convention.
A Forthcoming Update Will Simplify Warframe‘s Mod System for Newcomers
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Digital Extremes
Like Destiny, Warframe has been around for quite some time within the live-service game genre. Over the years it has developed a complex system that is very familiar to veteran players but can seem confusing to new ones. The mod system, with its customization and crafting elements, is one example of this.
Digital Extremes has not yet provided every detail about its upcoming fall update (more information is planned during a developer stream on September 25). However, we can expect a new quest titled “Teacher,” which is designed to guide new players on how to master the game’s buildcrafting tools. The update will also include a rework to the Oberon Warframe and a Lavos Deluxe Skin. This should be a helpful way for players to learn and get accustomed to the game.
The Next Story Expansion is Titled The Old Peace
The next narrative expansion for Warframe is scheduled for release in late 2025. Players will journey into the past, experiencing the game’s “most important historical event,” referred to as “The Old War.” Player-controlled Tenno Operators will get a visual enhancement. The expansion will also introduce gameplay elements inspired by World War I trench warfare.
The update will feature a playable Excalibur Prime for owners of that frame, Caliban Prime, new Sentient allies and adversaries, the devil-inspired Warframe Uriel, and two new Protoframes.
Importantly, it will pave the way for an event that Warframe has not yet offered.
Players Journey to the Tau Star System in 2026
After the events of The Old Peace, players will experience something entirely new in Warframe‘s history – exploration of the Tau star system.
Within the game’s lore, Tau was identified as a possible site for colonization. Sentients, self-replicating terraforming machines, were tasked with preparing Tau for inhabitants. It’s still unknown what challenges and rewards lie ahead in Tau in the coming year.
Soulframe is Still in Development, But Fans Experienced an Early Build
Digital Extremes continues to advance Warframe, and is also developing the fantasy-themed spin-off Soulframe. TennoCon 2025 featured an extended demo that showcased character customization and a player tracking a monster through a forest. In this gameplay, melee weapons, archery, and magic were used to overcome a variety of woodland challenges. During the convention fans were able to test an early pre-alpha build called Preludes; a public demo is still some time off.
Is the studio on track for a late 2025 release? It seems increasingly improbable. Community manager Sarah Asselin explained during a Q&A session
over the weekend,
“It’s an aspirational goal. We’re looking at where we’re at by the end of the year, but we want to feel confident that we’ve
built Soulframe out to the point where it feels good to do so, for the players and the developers.”
Warframe Devs are Interested in a Switch 2 Version, But Lack a Development Kit
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Nintendo / Digital Extremes / Kotaku
Games like Fortnite, No Man’s Sky, and other Switch 1 titles are being optimized for Switch 2. Will Warframe get the same treatment? It could certainly benefit from improved performance on a next-gen Nintendo handheld. However, Digital Extremes has said that it needs a Switch 2 development kit from Nintendo before that can happen.
Like other third-party developers, Digital Extremes is waiting to get its hands on the new hardware.
CEO Steve Sinclair said during a Q&A:
“Our tech team is so excited to take advantage of the high-speed cores and the other really cool features of it. There’s just such a backlog for dev kits.
So, yeah, if you know anyone…just one, that’s all it would take. I know our programmers are just, like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait.’ We definitely have plans.
When we get a dev kit, we will be doing a custom build for Warframe. Absolutely.”
It remains to be seen which will come first: a Warframe upgrade for Switch 2 or the launch of Soulframe.
Correction 7/21/2025 2:04 p.m. ET: This article was updated to reflect that Excalibur Prime will only be playable for those who already
own it. It was also updated with details about the upcoming fall update. It was clarified that the mobile beta is only for Android, as Warframe
is already available on iOS.
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