Check out everything Warframe from Gamescom 2024, from Warframe: 1999 to Koumei & the Five Fates.
Digital Extremes took to the stage and grabbed a pretzel last week as the team behind the wildly popular online RPG, Warframe went to Gamescom 2024. Alongside meeting fans at the TennoVIP community celebration in Cologne, the developers dropped a ton of news that you might have missed.
Timely Trailers & Romance Novels
During the Into The Infinite Gamescom showcase stream, two new teasers arrived to give us all a look at upcoming projects. While that means potential players can bask in the lush forests of Soulframe, I’m more interested in seeing the new gameplay trailer for Warframe: 1999. The new trailer provides another look at the range of announced features that players can try out when the update lands in winter 2024. There’s another look at the Protoframes that will accompany you in this update, a wild ride through the streets Höllvania on the Atomicycle, and an iconic infestation that might be music to your ears. Oh, there’s a ruddy big tank too!
While the Tenno, the Infestation, and the presence of a hulking new Warframe called Cyte-09 all intertwine technology with power and chaos, Creative Director Rebecca Ford walked us through some of the other 1999 update concepts. We sat down during Gamescom and discussed a story about control, power, technology, fear, and human connection. That’s where Kim comes in. The new KIM system, yep think MSN but Warframe, is an element of the throwback future unique to this timeframe.
Allowing players to romance their compatriots and delving into the same sort of inspiration that birthed the Web Ring, this explores ideas of human relationship and technology. She pointed out that right now “we’re rarely without our phones. We’re never without internet access. We wanted to go to this moment in time, where all of these things collide and explore what it means to be pro or anti-tech.”
Discussing the romance system, Rebecca confirmed we’ll be able to dive deep into the this, with a whole set of possibilities written for players. The KIM will also provide some cool features, with Rebecca confirming that there will be:
“some fun things for your settings. It’s your drifter, right? So your drifter will feel a certain way about being online here. So we will definitely give you profile customization.”
If I can’t leave my favorite NIN track lyric as a status then I’ll be sorely disappointed. More than just something fun to do though, I’d argue the romance system is a counterpoint to the obvious fear and trepidation that follow armor-plated tanks as they roll through an alternative reality city block. It’s also the reason I asked if Digital Extremes had considered expanding this in the future, with Rebecca affirming that, “We want to make sure step one is to ship a functioning system. Step two is confirming if it can be expanded on in a meaningful way in the silo of 1999, and then Step three is asking where do we go from here? I don’t imagine ever adding romance outside of this setting.”
Koumei & the Five Fates
My other Warframe highlight from Gamescom 2025 was the news that the incoming Fall update had a name and a theme. Koumei & the Five Fates is coming in Fall 2024 and draws on the development team’s love for its Japanese player base.
The Five Fates update might feel like an unusual side quest for a game that’s been shuffling towards the impending release of 1999, but Rebecca’s enthusiasm seemed palpable when talking about the opportunity to bring this concept to the screen. Maybe it’s just because I’m a card carrying weeb that remembers the heyday of the GLOMP and torrenting fansubs. Fans picking up this update will find an aesthetic that uses Japanese culture and iconography as a touchstone rather than a direct copy paste framework. This is already apparent in the title art. The concept of fate and even the color choice seem deliberate, tugging on the red string of fate already. We already know that Volt will get stunning cosmetic skin, which likely draws heavily on The Great Wave off Kanagawa, and will be purchasable using Platinum.
Rebecca also indicated there’s at least some inspiration taken from the traditional shrine maiden, which we will see soon enough. We weren’t given any specifics about how this all fits together out and how the update ties into the open world, but fans only have to hang on until September. Players looking forward to this incarnation will have to wait until Tokyo Games Show to find out more specifics, another nod towards the Japanese community team and player base. Right now, I’ll just remain hyped for this.
Yes, Warframe: 1999 is coming and there are tons of teases, but I’m actually most excited for the unique new ideas that Digital Extremes keeps bringing to the Warframe universe. You can find out more about the upcoming Koumei & the Five Fates reveals and Warframe: 1999 on the official website now.
