Soulframe Wants To Finally Get You To Try Co-Op, And Let You Collect Cute Lil Critters

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At PAX East 2025, Digital Extremes presented its 188th developer live stream, sharing insights about the forthcoming update for Warframe and advancements on their second multiplayer RPG project, Soulframe. Later, we were invited to a press conference featuring Geoff Crookes (Soulframe’s creative director), Steve Sinclair (CEO of Digital Extremes), Megan Everett (community director), and Kat Kingsley (Warframe’s lead writer), where we discussed the ongoing development work on both games.

Warframe’s latest updates feature a new storyline chapter arriving in June, the introduction of Warframe Oraxia, also known as Spiderframe, and a refined version of the existing Warframe, Yareli. Currently, the main emphasis is on Soulframe – the game is gearing up for its 10th playtest, which places a strong emphasis on weapon customization. If you’re lucky enough to secure an access code, perhaps from a PAX East promo card, you can join in!

Gotta catch ‘em all

In the unveiling of the latest Soulframe gameplay, Sinclair emphasizes that their upgrade system differs significantly from that seen in Pokemon games. The Soulframe: Preludes trailer showcases a creature resembling a googly-eyed spider (akin to the dust spirits from Spirited Away), which can be equipped for use. Additionally, the trailer presents sidearms as secondary weapons designed to complement your primary weapon.

Currently, Soulframe is undergoing its tenth phase, which we refer to as ‘Prelude’ – similar to an alpha test. When questioned about the main emphasis of P10, Sinclair stated, “The primary focus here is on weapon customization.

We’re only at the start of our project. We’ve made many adjustments to this project so far, and I believe we’ve invested more time than anticipated on the basics. This game is moving at about one-third the speed of Warframe and has a significant focus on melee combat, which has taken us longer than expected to develop.

In this game, you can customize your loadout with creatures and sidearms, making it more than just a simple play-and-go experience. Instead, it challenges you to think strategically and use creativity in defeating enemies, rather than relying solely on hacking or shooting them down.

Sinclair described the new creature-collecting system as offering something akin to a unique blend of a living beast and a mod, particularly for those familiar with Warframe. This implies that players will gather various creatures, resulting in diverse possibilities for personalizing their swords. As these creatures are leveled up, more options for upgrading will become available, leading players on a hunt for these small creatures, attempting to capture them and incorporate them into their weapons.

As a fan, I can see a strong resemblance between the customization system in Soulframe and that of Warframe, which seems to have served as a significant source of inspiration for the creators. Yet, just like how Warframe is cautious about revisiting time-travel narratives right away, Soulframe is careful not to simply duplicate the mod system without giving it proper thought. DE has already ventured into similar territory with their Soulframe Preludes, where they’ve innovatively adapted and reinvented existing elements such as factions in Warframe, crafting a fresh take on them within Soulframe.

According to Crookes, Warframe offers an intense rush of adrenaline, while Soulframe moves at a more leisurely pace, fitting well with a pastoral and romantic aesthetic. For quite some time, we hesitated to introduce a secondary mode to maintain this fast-paced feel.

The “pastoral romanticism” aligns with other influences that Soulframe has, such as the movie “Princess Mononoke,” a point we touched upon during our Soulframe interview in 2023.

As a gamer, I must admit that when it comes to gameplay aspects inspired by Mononoke, I find it challenging to draw clear lines. However, one area where we took heavy influence was in the animation, particularly the intricate details like the corruption on Prince Ashitaka’s arm and the violence that ensued from it. There’s a stark contrast between these dark elements and other aspects of the game, which I believe adds depth to the overall experience.

He discussed Soulframe’s versions of Warframe’s characters, called “Pacts,” which were influenced by Mononoke. These equippable items define your abilities and class. We often consider how these tools and their characteristics are unique to their originating universe and contrast with it.

To clarify, it’s challenging to specifically identify the concept of agreements due to Mononoke’s recurring theme that emphasizes nature’s power. So, there isn’t really a notion similar to making pacts among us. Instead, if you reduce pollution, restore the earth, and protect animals, he suggested.

Forever alone gamers

Digital Extremes has yet to reveal detailed information about the social elements in Soulframe, however, it has been confirmed by Crookes that the game will cater to both individual and cooperative play experiences.

He mentioned that although the cooperative aspect is significant, it won’t be compulsory. Instead, we’re organizing a community event to foster collaboration and teamwork. However, many in our studio identify as solo gamers, often engaging in multiplayer games while maintaining individuality, which can be described as “united yet independent.

Based on Sinclair’s statement, approximately a quarter of Warframe players opt for solo gameplay without restrictions, and the developers plan to adopt a similar approach with Soulframe. However, they also suggest that players experiment with cooperative play when possible. One feature of co-op play in Soulframe will be centered around the theme of ancestry.

In an effort to attract those who typically avoid it, we’re experimenting with a very welcoming approach towards our cooperative game. Our goal is to inspire players to appreciate the social aspect of the game. Currently, the game has a heritage theme that serves as a base for us to develop further. If you share ancestry with another player in the game world, you might enjoy unique advantages when playing together.

In addition, he suggests incorporating discussion boards within the game, acknowledging it’s a daring move since they rely on players to exercise unrestricted control over their posts, as opposed to pre-defined messages. Regarding collaborative gameplay elements, Soulframe offers factions known as “enclaves” and hubs where you can connect with others who share similar guilds for social interaction.

Crookes mentioned they plan to encourage players aiding one another within the game by providing tips, advice, or useful items specific to particular areas in the game’s open world.

Lessons learned

Digital Extremes is making steady progress with Soulframe, and they’ve been transparent about the project’s development. They credit much of their advancements to the dedicated early players who have invested countless hours into the game, providing valuable insights and constructive criticism that guide improvements.

Sinclair stated, “When we began this venture, many people expressed doubts, claiming it wouldn’t succeed a second time. They argued that the world had changed, and creating Warframe once more – launching a small game, building a community, and prioritizing that community over an abundance of content – was impossible. However, we firmly believed that approach could work again.

He acknowledged that we might be excessively concerned about our product. In our discussion regarding the creation of Soulframe’s introduction, it seemed like we were considering, “Alright, we need to craft a two-hour solo adventure to familiarize them with the world, help them grasp the setting and conflicts, and then provide access to the broader experience.

As I was helping my team bring the game live, it hit us that our current approach wasn’t cutting it. We suddenly realized, ‘We can’t mess up Warframe with this method; we need to build on its strengths and pay more attention to the fresh players’ experience.’

Soulframe differs significantly from Warframe, making it challenging to replicate a rewarding experience through similar methods, such as adjustments made early on regarding game speed during development. This challenge has persisted over the years. Sinclair recounts an instance last year where they faced severe criticism due to a flawed Soulframe demo and opted to significantly decelerate development to concentrate on refining the basics. As a result, they’ve only recently begun expanding features like weapon customization and build crafting, with the creatures featured in the latest trailer being part of this progress.

Sinclair mentioned that while Warframe offers a grand power fantasy, Soulframe presents significantly varied enemy kill times, allowing for close scrutiny of each animation frame, even the subtle details like foot clipping on the ground. He expressed disappointment over this aspect at last year’s TennoCon.

I felt tremendously proud of what our relatively small team accomplished in such a short time. Despite challenges like Nimrod, Verminia, and the complex weather conditions, everything was just fascinating… However, one adversary managed to bypass a wall, leaving us questioning the game’s quality for a moment. It took us several months to regain our composure and spirits after that setback.

As an ardent fan, I can’t help but express my excitement about Digital Extremities’ (DE) future plans for Soulframe. Just like they’ve meticulously structured updates for Warframe, they aim to apply the same approach to Soulframe. In his own words, Sinclair pointed out that last year, DE had a tendency to delay Prelude’s updates, pushing them back repeatedly. He compared this to the pace at which Warframe is advancing, emphasizing the need for a more consistent schedule for Soulframe.

Let’s keep in mind that we’re part of the Design Engineering team. We need to be careful not to take on too many tasks, so we can focus on producing quality and intriguing work instead.

At the moment, Soulframe is being worked on for computer platforms. Digital Extremes suggests that there may be further updates or announcements regarding

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2025-05-15 16:10