On March 25, 2013, Digital Extremes launched a free-to-play sci-fi action title called Warframe, putting players in the roles of the Tenno, fighting against interstellar evils across the galaxy. What started with humble beginnings has now grown into one of the most successful live-service games on the market, and after celebrating Warframe's 13th birthday, and with its new sibling, Soulframe, Digital Extremes wants to prove it still has plenty to offer its fans.
GameSpot sat down with Warframe community director Megan Everett at PAX East 2026, just after she completed a Warframe- and Soulframe-focused panel on the main stage. We spoke about the new Shadowgrapher update, Warframe's jump to Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's stance on generative AI, and more.
The latest Warframe update adds a new playable character to the mix in Follie, an imposing figure who uses inks and paints as weapons in battle. The limited-time game mode introduced with her, Follie's Hunt, forces players into a 4v1 showdown with Follie that invokes similar feelings to horror title Dead by Daylight or other similar asymmetric multiplayer games.
While planning Follie's Hunt, Everett said the team knew that while they wanted to create something in the vein of DBD, which has four survivor players facing off against one powerful killer player, Warframe's version would have some key differences.
"We didn't want to do a 4v1 with a killer because, after 13 years, players are so strong," Everett said. "They have their builds and an established meta, so how can we make this a little different?"
The answer, it turned out, was to make Follie invincible, a constant threat tracking the team through the arena.
"We wanted to do that kind of scary angle, so we thought, what's more scary than an invulnerable lady chasing after you?" Everett continued. "It was a journey to get there, though, because we had a vision for it and then it kind of became something else."
"[Creative director] Rebb Ford had an inspiration from Mario 64 of jumping into one of Follie's paintings to begin the mode," Everett added. "So we looked at what we already had existing in the game, trying to find something that we could give new life to. Eventually, we realized there's been a relay floating around the star chart, looking really sad for 10 years, so we decided to utilize that."
Digital Extremes team realized that the perfect arena for Follie's Hunt had been literally staring players in the face for over a decade. The Vesper Relay, a hub world that was destroyed during an in-game event and left on the map to remind players of the loss, was chosen to host the new mode.
Before PAX East even began, Digital Extremes had released a bevy of updates for Warframe across multiple platforms--including a new one, as it formally launched on Switch 2 on March 25. Everything Warframe has ever seen in its 13 years of existence can now be played on Nintendo's latest handheld, thanks to a simple transition between the previous and current consoles.
"We started working on [the Switch 2 version] last year. We obviously had to wait for the dev kits to come, but I think because Warframe already exists on the original Switch, it was just a 'plop a build onto Switch 2, see what the hardware can do' situation," Everett said. "Once we got the dev kits, we were rocking and rolling. The architecture was similar enough that we just had to mess with the code."
Even with developer kits in hand, however, the Switch 2 version of Warframe didn't launch when the team first hoped it would, she said. There were hopes among the team to drop the Switch 2 version at the same time as Warframe's latest major update, The Old Peace, at the end of 2025.
"We wanted to put it at the end of last year; we were like, how cool would it be when The Old Peace launches to say 'it's also out on Switch 2, Merry Christmas, see you next year,'" Everett explained. "But with the bandwidth of the team, we had to step back and realize that The Old Peace was crazy enough to develop. So we pushed it to this year and [launched] it with the Shadowgrapher update."
As for updates to the Switch 2 version, outside of the expected visual and frame-rate improvement, the addition that has made the most impact is the Joy-Con's mouse feature. Everett said the team received a ton of feedback on the sensitivity of the mouse just days after the Switch 2 launch, and that the team was "already making changes" based on that feedback.
Alongside Warframe's continued 13-year march, a new project in a new genre is starting to find its footing. Soulframe, which exchanges the sci-fi aesthetic of Warframe with a medieval fantasy motif, has been slowly building its way to a full 1.0 release, with new updates including wolf mounts and new characters announced during the PAX East panel.
With a new project comes a new mountain of work to complete, and the developers within Digital Extremes are continuing to find harmony in how they work on two robust games at one time, Everett said. The teams are split, but ideas are still shared between them.
"It was definitely a struggle at first," Everett said, "We did the split, the Soulframe team started doing Soulframe things, and the Warframe team put out [the] Duviri['s Paradox update]. Then, once the 1999 stuff rolled around, the Warframe team needed extra help, so some of the Soulframe team had to come back. It took a minute to find the flow of it all, but we have a good flow now, and we have many people who can work on both games."
The combined efforts also allow the teams to share tech between them, should any vast or game-changing improvements to the base technology of the games surface, she said.
"If Soulframe's team suddenly develops this crazy tech improvement for how eyes look or something like that, Warframe's going to get it too, and we can all work together on what that looks like," Everett said. "The Warframe team wants the Soulframe team to be successful, we want to see them succeed, we're all in this together. So whatever one needs from the other, or vice versa, we're all shared."
A lot of that success, of course, comes thanks to the robust Warframe community, which filled the main theater at PAX East for the panel and represented the game all throughout the weekend. The importance of that community, and what they allow Digital Extremes to continue to do, is not lost on anyone inside the studio.
"They keep our lights on; without them, all of this could end tomorrow," Everett said. "[Warframe is] a free-to-play game. No one has to spend anything if they don't want to. They're choosing to support us through the cosmetics and Prime Access bundles and stuff like that, and we're so grateful that they do, and we let them know."
A new challenge for Digital Extremes has been getting those tenured Warframe supporters over to Soulframe to try something new. While some players ventured over to the new game simply to support the company--"being a supportive fan of the people and the company that make the game and wanting to see them succeed in another game," as Everett describes--the team knows that not everyone will be as drawn to Soulframe as they are to Warframe now.
"The whole point of Soulframe was to make a game that felt different from Warframe," Everett said. "So, there's going to be people that say, 'Warframe's my speed, Soulframe's beautiful and cool and all, but it's just not my vibe,' and that's completely fair."
The team did notice that some Warframe players who weren't around 13 years ago jumped over to Soulframe simply because they didn't want to miss out on early cosmetics again. That could suggest that, like Warframe, players are expecting Soulframe to be around a long time.
"When Soulframe launched the Founders program, there were so many people that missed out on Warframe Founder that were not going to miss Soulframe Founder," Everett said. "Tthey knew Soulframe was going to do something similar to what Warframe did and offer a one-time cosmetic, and they thought 'I have the biggest regret ever of not getting that Excalibur Prime, I'm getting Soulframe.'"
The Warframe community, as supportive as it is, can also dish out some tough love when necessary. A notable example came in a recent development stream, when a piece of fan art created with generative AI was highlighted by Everett.
"We stream every Thursday, and we always show off fan art and stuff from the community," Everett said. "One time, someone made art of what looked like a Warframe Gundam, and I thought it was so cool, so I showed it. Immediately, everyone watching the stream clocked it, and I was devastated. It was so damn sneaky."
Digital Extremes's stance on generative AI is simple: Nothing the team wants to put out will ever be made by AI.
"We are a very non-AI company and it is all humans making Warframe and Soulframe," Everett said.
So, when this piece of fan art came through, Everett said she felt like she'd let the fans down, to the point where she now has to worry when looking for other art to feature on stream.
"I literally don't even want to open any type of timeline and look at art because I'm like, 'Am I being fooled?' I literally don't know if what I'm looking at is real, and I get so frustrated about it, it's so annoying," Everett said. "I'm very passionate about not having any of that shit. Nothing in our games will be AI-generated. Ever."
Source
GameSpot sat down with Warframe community director Megan Everett at PAX East 2026, just after she completed a Warframe- and Soulframe-focused panel on the main stage. We spoke about the new Shadowgrapher update, Warframe's jump to Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's stance on generative AI, and more.
Enter the Shadowgrapher
The latest Warframe update adds a new playable character to the mix in Follie, an imposing figure who uses inks and paints as weapons in battle. The limited-time game mode introduced with her, Follie's Hunt, forces players into a 4v1 showdown with Follie that invokes similar feelings to horror title Dead by Daylight or other similar asymmetric multiplayer games.
While planning Follie's Hunt, Everett said the team knew that while they wanted to create something in the vein of DBD, which has four survivor players facing off against one powerful killer player, Warframe's version would have some key differences.
"We didn't want to do a 4v1 with a killer because, after 13 years, players are so strong," Everett said. "They have their builds and an established meta, so how can we make this a little different?"
The answer, it turned out, was to make Follie invincible, a constant threat tracking the team through the arena.
"We wanted to do that kind of scary angle, so we thought, what's more scary than an invulnerable lady chasing after you?" Everett continued. "It was a journey to get there, though, because we had a vision for it and then it kind of became something else."
"[Creative director] Rebb Ford had an inspiration from Mario 64 of jumping into one of Follie's paintings to begin the mode," Everett added. "So we looked at what we already had existing in the game, trying to find something that we could give new life to. Eventually, we realized there's been a relay floating around the star chart, looking really sad for 10 years, so we decided to utilize that."
Digital Extremes team realized that the perfect arena for Follie's Hunt had been literally staring players in the face for over a decade. The Vesper Relay, a hub world that was destroyed during an in-game event and left on the map to remind players of the loss, was chosen to host the new mode.
A new platform
Before PAX East even began, Digital Extremes had released a bevy of updates for Warframe across multiple platforms--including a new one, as it formally launched on Switch 2 on March 25. Everything Warframe has ever seen in its 13 years of existence can now be played on Nintendo's latest handheld, thanks to a simple transition between the previous and current consoles.
"We started working on [the Switch 2 version] last year. We obviously had to wait for the dev kits to come, but I think because Warframe already exists on the original Switch, it was just a 'plop a build onto Switch 2, see what the hardware can do' situation," Everett said. "Once we got the dev kits, we were rocking and rolling. The architecture was similar enough that we just had to mess with the code."
Even with developer kits in hand, however, the Switch 2 version of Warframe didn't launch when the team first hoped it would, she said. There were hopes among the team to drop the Switch 2 version at the same time as Warframe's latest major update, The Old Peace, at the end of 2025.
"We wanted to put it at the end of last year; we were like, how cool would it be when The Old Peace launches to say 'it's also out on Switch 2, Merry Christmas, see you next year,'" Everett explained. "But with the bandwidth of the team, we had to step back and realize that The Old Peace was crazy enough to develop. So we pushed it to this year and [launched] it with the Shadowgrapher update."
As for updates to the Switch 2 version, outside of the expected visual and frame-rate improvement, the addition that has made the most impact is the Joy-Con's mouse feature. Everett said the team received a ton of feedback on the sensitivity of the mouse just days after the Switch 2 launch, and that the team was "already making changes" based on that feedback.
Soul of a new game
Alongside Warframe's continued 13-year march, a new project in a new genre is starting to find its footing. Soulframe, which exchanges the sci-fi aesthetic of Warframe with a medieval fantasy motif, has been slowly building its way to a full 1.0 release, with new updates including wolf mounts and new characters announced during the PAX East panel.
With a new project comes a new mountain of work to complete, and the developers within Digital Extremes are continuing to find harmony in how they work on two robust games at one time, Everett said. The teams are split, but ideas are still shared between them.
"It was definitely a struggle at first," Everett said, "We did the split, the Soulframe team started doing Soulframe things, and the Warframe team put out [the] Duviri['s Paradox update]. Then, once the 1999 stuff rolled around, the Warframe team needed extra help, so some of the Soulframe team had to come back. It took a minute to find the flow of it all, but we have a good flow now, and we have many people who can work on both games."
The combined efforts also allow the teams to share tech between them, should any vast or game-changing improvements to the base technology of the games surface, she said.
"If Soulframe's team suddenly develops this crazy tech improvement for how eyes look or something like that, Warframe's going to get it too, and we can all work together on what that looks like," Everett said. "The Warframe team wants the Soulframe team to be successful, we want to see them succeed, we're all in this together. So whatever one needs from the other, or vice versa, we're all shared."
Community effort
A lot of that success, of course, comes thanks to the robust Warframe community, which filled the main theater at PAX East for the panel and represented the game all throughout the weekend. The importance of that community, and what they allow Digital Extremes to continue to do, is not lost on anyone inside the studio.
"They keep our lights on; without them, all of this could end tomorrow," Everett said. "[Warframe is] a free-to-play game. No one has to spend anything if they don't want to. They're choosing to support us through the cosmetics and Prime Access bundles and stuff like that, and we're so grateful that they do, and we let them know."
A new challenge for Digital Extremes has been getting those tenured Warframe supporters over to Soulframe to try something new. While some players ventured over to the new game simply to support the company--"being a supportive fan of the people and the company that make the game and wanting to see them succeed in another game," as Everett describes--the team knows that not everyone will be as drawn to Soulframe as they are to Warframe now.
"The whole point of Soulframe was to make a game that felt different from Warframe," Everett said. "So, there's going to be people that say, 'Warframe's my speed, Soulframe's beautiful and cool and all, but it's just not my vibe,' and that's completely fair."
The team did notice that some Warframe players who weren't around 13 years ago jumped over to Soulframe simply because they didn't want to miss out on early cosmetics again. That could suggest that, like Warframe, players are expecting Soulframe to be around a long time.
"When Soulframe launched the Founders program, there were so many people that missed out on Warframe Founder that were not going to miss Soulframe Founder," Everett said. "Tthey knew Soulframe was going to do something similar to what Warframe did and offer a one-time cosmetic, and they thought 'I have the biggest regret ever of not getting that Excalibur Prime, I'm getting Soulframe.'"
Human made
The Warframe community, as supportive as it is, can also dish out some tough love when necessary. A notable example came in a recent development stream, when a piece of fan art created with generative AI was highlighted by Everett.
"We stream every Thursday, and we always show off fan art and stuff from the community," Everett said. "One time, someone made art of what looked like a Warframe Gundam, and I thought it was so cool, so I showed it. Immediately, everyone watching the stream clocked it, and I was devastated. It was so damn sneaky."
Digital Extremes's stance on generative AI is simple: Nothing the team wants to put out will ever be made by AI.
"We are a very non-AI company and it is all humans making Warframe and Soulframe," Everett said.
So, when this piece of fan art came through, Everett said she felt like she'd let the fans down, to the point where she now has to worry when looking for other art to feature on stream.
"I literally don't even want to open any type of timeline and look at art because I'm like, 'Am I being fooled?' I literally don't know if what I'm looking at is real, and I get so frustrated about it, it's so annoying," Everett said. "I'm very passionate about not having any of that shit. Nothing in our games will be AI-generated. Ever."
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