Soulframe was the opening act for TennoCon 2025. Their recent showcase with Devstream 8 showcased an emotionally charged and jaw-dropping gameplay demo for the Bromeus Fable quest. Bromeus is a bear omen beast in the game, and his story, similar to Garren Rood from the 2023 gameplay demo, was tied to the Ode and the corruption they’ve unleashed upon Midrath Island.
With only a few days before TennoCon, I was able to get a brief chat with two key developers working on Digital Extremes’ upcoming fantasy MMORPG Soulframe. Both Scott McGregor, the Lead Designer, and Sarah Asselin, the Senior Community Manager, were able to give us some time to talk about all things happening behind the scenes. Before I was able to dig deep into my burning questions regarding the game’s development. I first asked about their histories before joining Digital Extremes.
Scott started at Digital Extremes 25 years ago, working as a level designer for all of Digital Extremes’ games before becoming the Design Director on Warframe from the very beginning. This was up until a few years ago, when Digital Extremes decided to start development on Soulframe. Sarah started as an intern 7 years ago and worked her way up through community team before finding herself as the Senior Community Manager for Soulframe.
From a “Hail Mary” to a New Vision with Soulframe
Scott described Warframe as a Hail Mary play for Digital Extremes back when they were down on their luck with publishers. Building the game with the community from the very beginning, and vowing to always keep that same philosophy with Soulframe even in a more comfortable position as a studio from back then.
Scott described his role as being a part of “everything”. Whether that is the core combat loop, to the enemy AI, boss designs, narrative pacing, effects, and even sound placement. One of the questions I had was the move to a consistent gameplay feeling experience for Soulframe. Warframe can move from having fast-paced gunplay, to skateboarding, then slowing things down for the human/operator gameplay. In Soulframe, so far, it has been a consistent, slow-paced melee experience.
Scott responded by saying that it is still a learning experience day to day for him. He and his team have been looking at ideas from across the ARPG space and applying what makes sense.
Balancing Old and New in the New Experiences for Soulframe
When it comes to Digital Extremes, what they are proactive in is feedback gathering. For Soulframe, it is still in its “infancy,” so to speak. Sarah spoke on how they have been managing the feedback they get from players who have been in the game since the Preludes program from the beginning, and those who have just started recently. She described it as a “new player flow” for the initial experience. Considering it is still being streamlined to make Soulframe more welcoming for players. Scott also chimed in to explain how the community team, like Sarah, is great at finding points of contention, like the recently reworked crafting system.
Scott shared his empathy with the frustrations that the system had and worked with everyone to create a system that would work with the reforging mechanic for endgame players while smoothing out the initial experience for the new game players. Onward from there, Scott shared that the reason for the ultimate weapons that the Pacts used to have were removed was do to them feeling like “the only way to play”. With players leaning on the power they offered instead of having a customization system that let players earn that power.
While the Motes system is still not in the game, Scott did comment on it, saying they still have discussions about bringing back the ultimate weapons. But the Motes system will be the way to go when they are added to Soulframe at a later date. Not to mention the Combat Manual system that replaces permanent skill point investment with customizable progression you can change at any time.
The proactiveness to change ideas or remove systems or mechanics instead of permanently adding and then iterating when there is vocal feedback from players is refreshing, albeit frustrating at times, in certain cases like the crafting system.
Opening the (Player) Floodgates
On the weekend of TennoCon. Digital Extremes sent out invitations to everyone who has signed up to that day. Allowing everyone who had an interest to finally sit down and try the game. While you will still have to wait if you sign up now, Sarah talked about how they want to ensure things like the crafting system and motes are just right before moving into an “open” state for players to jump in after signing up in the future.
For those who are a “if it’s not on Steam, I am not playing it” sort of player. Currently, there is not a window for Soulframe to release on the PC’s largest marketplace and where a sizeable part of Warframe’s playerbase is. So, you will have to wait for official news at a later date.
The Pressure and Hype from TennoCon 2025 for Soulframe
When asked about how they felt about the pressure and excitement surrounding Soulframe. Sarah described herself feeling “humbled” by the love TennoCon gets from the community and how she feels fueled to tackle the rest of the year following after meeting so many fans and seeing their excitement and love in person. Scott talked about how they originally felt with the first TennoCon, “Was anyone even going to show up?” While sharing a story of how he is not a public speaker type of person, and feeling scared during that first stream. But now gets a rush from being up on stage for the fans.
He then echoes Sarah’s sentiment while talking about how incredible it is to see staff from Digital Extremes, even developers, filling loot bags for attendees, manning the merch store, and doing what they can to ensure the event runs smoothly. But with Soulframe being the opening act, so to speak, for TennoLive, I asked them how they felt filling that slot. Scott described that they were grateful to be the “appetizer” as he put it. Considering most players attending are there for just Warframe and want to keep TennoLive for what that team presents.
Finally, following last year’s TennoCon demo for Soulframe, there was backlash concerning some of the visuals and gameplay for the game. Scott described that they usually intend to show “early and often” to keep the feedback going to see what players love and to know what they need to improve upon. Sarah said the same about constructive criticism, and how they are able to find the win after each demo and presentation. Scott even mentioned that they sifted through feedback for 2 and a half months to see what they needed to address and are keeping a much closer eye before they showed off this year’s demo.
Closing Remarks on our Exclusive Interview with Scott and Sarah
We at Lords of Gaming would like to thank you for your time reading this interview with Scott and Sarah following TennoCon 2025. When asked about what keeps Scott and Sarah “driven” in an industry filled with turmoil. Sarah spoke about her gratitude towards the community that is always patient. As well as getting to work alongside her fellow team members. Scott shared a similar sentiment while also describing how he loves the rush of when things come together on the development side to make what is shown to the community.
We would also love to thank Digital Extremes for giving us the chance to speak with Scott and Sarah. If you have not watched the Soulframe TennoCon demo, you can find it down below!
