13 Years of Warframe: The Shadowgrapher Update, Nintendo Switch 2 Version, and Plenty More to Come

In the fast-paced, crowded scenery of live-service games, Digital Extremes' Warframe has been a recurring favourite among die-hard fans of online action-RPGs — and the assemblage is inactive increasing 13 years since its launch. With the volatility of the live-service games abstraction successful caller years, the creators of Warframe person managed to find their abstraction and support it growing, and the developers person plentifulness of thoughts connected however their tenacious free-to-play online RPG is keeping things fresh, and has inactive got players clamoring for what's next.

Just earlier Digital Extremes' unrecorded showcase acceptable for PAX East 2026, we sat down with originative manager Rebecca Ford to speech astir Warframe successful 2026, however the evolving online action-RPG is continuing its growth, on with the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 merchandise and the Shadowgrapher update. Furthermore, Ford shared her thoughts connected the existent authorities of live-service games and wherefore audiences person "sportified" discussions astir games successful our contiguous clip (check retired our interrogation with Ford successful afloat close here).

"It's our 13th day since we launched connected Steam successful 2013, which was indicative of erstwhile things took disconnected for us," Ford said. "It's been great, we've done immoderate contented updates this year, but our archetypal large update, the Shadowgrapher, launches connected March 25, and past we spell close to PAX East to speech astir what's next, and past we're already moving connected what's adjacent aft that. The worst portion of the occupation is erstwhile you can't accidental thing [beyond that]."

"I privation I could accidental everything we are moving on, but it would ruin our full program for the year," she continued. "I'm excited for our update to spell out, which includes the Switch 2 launch. But I'm moving connected thing close present that I've been wanting to enactment connected for years, but what tin you do? You gotta support your rima shut, due to the fact that it's excessively hype."

Originally released successful 2013, Warframe gradually evolved to absorption connected a sprawling array of activities and missions acceptable successful open-world zones and narrative-driven events, including a time-travel communicative acceptable successful an alternate, Matrix-inspired 1999 that showcases the game's dense lore. It's been praised by galore for its laid-back, FOMO-free attack to an online game, offering short, bite-sized missions with co-op partners, arsenic good arsenic much progressive activities that absorption connected communicative and bespoke encounters.

Continuing this inclination is Warframe's March 25 update, the Shadowgrapher, which focuses connected a horror-themed lawsuit wherever players indispensable research a haunted abstraction relay portion being stalked by a almighty foe. Along with the caller enactment and story, the Shadowgrapher besides introduces the 64th playable Warframe known arsenic Follie, who uses ink-based powers to hindrance enemies and enactment the team.

Furthermore, Warframe volition besides get connected the Nintendo Switch 2 connected March 25, upgrading the well-received Switch 1 merchandise with enhanced show and 1080p resolution, improved load times, and added Joy-Con enactment for rodent control. According to Ford, the archetypal Switch merchandise was initiated by the devs' tendency to bring Warframe to much platforms. This determination turned retired to beryllium a large occurrence for the online game.

"It's benignant of unbelievable to deliberation we are erstwhile again connected Nintendo hardware, with a show and optimization level that is adjacent much compelling for radical with a Switch 2 to springiness Warframe a try," said Ford. "There's not overmuch similar it connected the Nintendo Switch hardware. It's a mature crippled that gives you a truly bully sci-fi MMO acquisition astatine this point, and it's going to beryllium incredibly awesome for anyone who has a Nintendo Switch 2 to spot a crippled similar this connected the hardware. And we person Switch 2 rodent enactment arsenic well; determination was a batch of joyousness from the QA squad that we were capable to marque that happen."

As Warframe continues to turn steadily, a broader speech has emerged astir the existent authorities of live-service games. Following high-profile failures of games successful caller years, peculiarly the online shooters Concord and Highguard, this formed a large spotlight connected the viability and risks of maintaining games-as-a-service titles. This has besides gotten the online games assemblage arsenic a full invested successful the show of games online, which carries its ain unsocial conversations.

Warframe benefited from coming retired earlier the monolithic influx of caller games, which gave it much abstraction and clip to find its individuality arsenic an online experience. According to Ford, the existent cognition of crippled show has led to discussions akin to those of commentators analyzing sports oregon movie analytics. Along with an extended investigation of Steam concurrent subordinate numbers, this "sportified" sermon has besides skewed definitions of what constitutes a game's success.

Ford said these types of conversations were inevitable for games and not inherently wrong. However, immoderate incorrect lessons tin beryllium drawn from performances, and galore discussions adhd accent to developers.

"We're precise alert and precise cautious astir what occurrence looks similar for us, and however we're going to navigate immoderate conversations wherever idiosyncratic mightiness statement our motorboat arsenic unsuccessful by utilizing different launches arsenic the lone metric," she explained. "If we privation immoderate idiosyncratic to beryllium funny successful what we're making, we person to marque it look absorbing to them. That means knowing your people audience, and knowing what makes this squad excited. But I'm already dreading this year, due to the fact that erstwhile we merchandise our upcoming Tau update, if it's not bigger than past year's update, does that mean it was a failure? Some radical whitethorn accidental so, but arsenic you know, we person to determine what occurrence is to us, and astatine this signifier successful the industry, that is conscionable having a job."

The originative manager credits Digital Extremes' quality to rapidly pivot and respond to assemblage needs and concerns for Warframe's continued success. During the game's aboriginal years, this was a necessity owed to Warframe being the 1 changeless task Digital Extremes had. This attack to improving the online acquisition has earned the crippled a dedicated pursuing of progressive players.

"We've go an manufacture meme for however tiny our crippled download sizes are contempt being 13 years old, and for however small server downtime we have, each contempt being a unrecorded work game," said Ford. "We bash things and we bash them fast, and we bash them successful a precise Warframe method that allows us, I think, a batch of grace from the games industry. People tin beryllium precise peculiar astir what defines success, oregon similar what should beryllium a crippled killer, truthful to speak. And yeah, astatine this point, we're not conscionable a earthy element. We are a molecule, but that molecule is, well, everything I conscionable said."

Currently, Digital Extremes has a dependable deed with Warframe, and it already has the adjacent large expansion, known arsenic Tau, planned for aboriginal successful 2026. The developers are besides actively putting the follow-up crippled Soulframe, the fantasy-inspired online action-RPG, done its paces successful the playable alpha, which besides gained a pursuing of its own. Therein lies wherever Digital Extremes has succeeded: it has spent sizeable clip fostering a community, which different games person struggled with. For much than a decade, Digital Extremes has besides produced the instrumentality lawsuit TennoCon, which has been a fashionable destination for long-time players.

"We instrumentality the assemblage precise seriously," said Ford. "So it's each amusive and games until it isn't from the assemblage side, and you know, we instrumentality the bully with the atrocious we have. We're similar an instauration astatine this point, wherever we've been doing it for truthful long, and conscionable luckily it comes people arsenic a precedence for us, and it took america 13 years to physique adjacent a time of goodwill that we would get contiguous — and it lone takes you 1 time to suffer it all. We person to beryllium precise cognizant of what we accidental and however we accidental it astir our game, our community, and our devs."

But according to Ford, whose existent tenure arsenic originative manager has led to caller storylines and much character-driven events, Warframe's occurrence arsenic a unrecorded work volition ever travel down to the subordinate assemblage and their concern successful what's to come.

"The aboriginal is ever a mystery, but I consciousness personally liable for making things wide for everyone involved, whether you're a subordinate oregon connected the dev team," said Ford. "We request clarity successful wherefore we're going the mode we're going, and I learned everything from the unit that are inactive present astatine our side, galore of whom are moving connected Soulframe now. They inactive assistance immensely with conscionable sitting and having a java and talking astir what's next, and 'does this consciousness right?' Luckily, they spot maine to signifier immoderate of those originative threads that we tug astatine to crook them into thing that we tin really vessel out."

Ford continued: "This year, adjacent though the Tau update won't beryllium excessively overmuch of a astonishment since we teased it, I deliberation the signifier it volition instrumentality volition beryllium very, precise exciting, and evidently a batch of hazard involved, and if players similar the mode things extremity up looking oregon feeling. But there's 1 different update that I person been moving connected for almost, I don't adjacent know, similar successful a doc, successful a notepad, successful life, conscionable like, there's this small task that is going to spot the airy of time this year. I don't cognize that I've ever been much personally excited astir a small Warframe update arsenic I americium with this one."

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].