Digital Extremes wrapped TennoCon 2026 with a slate of announcements spanning both of its major online action RPGs. The studio revealed an expansion into entirely new territory for Warframe while simultaneously pushing Soulframe deeper into darker narrative territory, signaling ambitious growth plans for both live-service titles.
The Tau expansion represents what creative director Rebecca Ford called the biggest shift forward in Warframe's 13-year history. Players will explore a second solar system populated by mysterious Sentinels and Orokin-terraformed colonies. The expansion's signature location, Forax, combines the studio's signature open exploration with procedurally generated zones in a cyberpunk-style alien city that blends large-scale areas with bite-sized action sequences.
"When it came to building up Tau, what we basically asked ourselves was, 'How do we keep Warframe going forever?" Ford told IGN. "The answer to that was to add a second solar system to the game. 13 years later, you can build up all over again, give the players more, and start planet by planet, moon by moon, and object by object."
The expansion hinges on a new Warframe called Brysko, a sentient Chimera Warframe created within the Tau system and voiced by Critical Role's Matt Mercer. Brysko functions as a gunslinger character that plays with fast-paced action game mechanics, continuing the studio's recent emphasis on character-driven storytelling.
Before Tau launches later this year, Warframe will receive several intermediary updates. The Iceblade of Narin quest will introduce a new location and playable Warframe, while separate updates bring deluxe versions of Qorvex and Banshee, gameplay reworks, and new Nightwave missions. The studio also revealed Portau, Warframe's first-ever card mini-game, a poker-inspired mechanic featuring Blooms, Cores, Moons, and Suns.
Meanwhile, Soulframe, still in its alpha phase, is moving toward a darker chapter. The Warsongs fable questline launching this fall explores the player character's origins and the motivations of antagonist Tempest Bayor, portrayed by Ben Starr from Final Fantasy XVI. Jennifer English, known for Baldur's Gate 3, joins as the Empress of Eldveil.
Warsongs introduces the Vadagar pact, which grants players access to dark side powers known as vespers. A new weapon called the Coiled Dawn, a snake sword with sweeping strikes, appears alongside the corruption system that lets players build dark abilities. The studio confirmed this represents Soulframe's darkest storyline to date.
Players encountered during the TennoCon demo will also see new features arriving in Soulframe this year. Mounts, a heavily requested community feature, will let players ride atop large wolves. A fishing mini-game called "Vegan Fishing" offers a relaxation mechanic for capturing wildlife and gathering intelligence about Alca's fauna. A new combat encounter against the Mendicant Reinbreaker, a shadowy dark knight, may yield a potential ally upon defeat.
Digital Extremes is also expanding early access to Soulframe Preludes. Anyone signing up before July 12 at 11:59 PM ET will gain access to the game, marking the broadest opportunity yet to join the developing title.
Author Emily Chen: "Two very different expansion philosophies here: Warframe's Tau is about infinite sprawl, while Soulframe's Warsongs embraces moral complexity and player choice, which feels like the smarter bet for a younger game still finding its voice."
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