Warframe studio announces Soulframe, a new MMORPG

Warframe studio Digital Extremes has announced a new MMORPG, Soulframe.

Announced during TennoCon 2022, the free-to-play fantasy MMO will be “heavily influenced by themes of nature, restoration, and exploration.”

“A totally new game in early development, Soulframe will deliver its own independent and uniquely immersive experience led by the creative and imaginative minds behind Warframe,” the developer said.

The game, which doesn’t have a release window, has been discussed in further detail in a new interview with The Washington Post.

“Where ‘Warframe’ is focused on shooting, this one’s focused on melee,” Steve Sinclair, Warframe director said. “Where ‘Warframe’ is super fast and crazy high-speed, this one’s going to be a lot more slow and heavy. But it still has a lot of similarities to the genre that we have experience in.”

“The conceit is that the world itself is a little angry about what’s been done to it, and the grounds underneath tend to shift throughout the day,” said creative director Geoff Crookes.

“So there’s going to be proceduralism within the cave networks and crevasses and so on underneath the world.”

Combat in the game is planned to be far slower-paced than sister game Warframe, with a focus on melee. However, the team emphasizes in the interview that this isn’t a reaction to Elden Ring.

“I think it certainly isn’t an inspiration for the initial ideas or what we wanted to do,” Sinclair told Washington Post.

“Ironically, other titles that were maybe borrowing from Warframe might have been some sort of reverse influence. But Elden Ring has absolutely been a subject of some conversation — maybe to do with camera, maybe to do with how excellent their combat pacing is. And you know, screw those guys, because damn, Elden Ring was absolutely fantastic.”

No release date has been announced, but Digital Extremes plans to be open with the development progress, and invites players to sign up on the Soulframe website for updates.