Digital Extremes has been on a roll all year long. From the bombastic launch of Warframe: 1999 to their incredible reveals at TennoCon 2025, all the way to the quality launch of The Vallis Undermind, they have not taken their foot off the gas as they head towards the release of The Old Peace in just a few short days. But following the recent Devstream, I was eager to learn a little more prior to launch, and thanks to the Community Director of Digital Extremes & Live Ops, Megan Everett, I was able to ask just a few questions about recent content shown regarding their final big update of the year!
Moving to Tau in Warframe, The Devil’s Triad, and The Tauron Strikes in Warframe
With The Old Peace, we are moving on from Warframe: 1999 as a setting in the meantime. Seeing as 1999 had an overwhelmingly positive response (the best I have seen since Jade Shadows), are there any concerns about moving towards Tau for the near future of the narrative?
At this point, we have next to no concerns. The response from the community has been so overwhelmingly positive that any doubts we had are gone. Our last Devstream of the year was somehow the most-watched Devstream we’ve ever had! 2026 is the year of Tau, and we cannot wait to take everyone there. That being said, that doesn’t mean that we won’t return to 1999 someday, but for now, we are moving on to tell the Operators’ story, and continuing to bring our players fresh and exciting surprises in a way that only Warframe can. – Megan Everett
Speaking of that transition from 1999 to The Old Peace, we are, of course, getting The Devil’s Triad as part of the update. What can you tell us about how the choices for each character came to be, especially Roathe, seeing as he is the first Orokin Protoframe and also romanceable?
Our Creative Director, Rebecca Ford, had a dream theme, and the team made it happen! In developing Uriel, our 63rd devil-themed Warframe, based heavily on Mike “Mynki” Brennan’s (Warframe’s first Art Director) last sketches, we knew he needed a Protoframe counterpart for this update. What’s more devilish than an Orokin? *wink* – Megan Everett
When it comes to The Hex in 1999, we had an entire cinematic quest to meet them and even play as them to feel a more personal connection before unlocking the alternate ending with the KIM system. How will The Devil’s Triad stack up when talking about screentime and post-quest content?
The Devil’s Triad Protoframes aren’t tied heavily into The Old Peace Quest itself. Their story plays out in our first-ever side story, and most of their “screen time,” per se, will be within The Descendia game mode, in La Cathédrale, and their relationship chat messages. The story will play out over time, with bits sprinkled throughout those aspects. We’ve also expanded on the relationship & romance system to now include Captura Dates you can take them on once you reach the max “Loved” status with one of them. So, while they may not get screentime in the Quest itself, you will have plenty of ways to interact with them and get to know them post-Quest. How much “screentime” they get is entirely up to you. – Megan Everett
Moving on to gameplay-related stuff. When it comes to the upcoming game modes, Descendia and the Perita Rebellion, will they offer new ways for players to earn focus for the new nodes in the Focus system?
Not necessarily, no, you will still earn Focus the same way you always did, but I think due to the nature of these new game modes, and with the addition of Tauron Strikes, Focus acquisition may move to the forefront as opposed to being collected passively. The new Focus nodes take the same Focus as the others, so all that Focus that you may have stockpiled or have been waiting to convert now has a purpose! – Megan Everett
Finally, the last time the Focus system got a touch-up was in 2022 with Angels of the Zariman. How long have the Tauron Strikes been in the works, and will this be the final gameplay-centered upgrade, so to speak, for the Operator and Drifter?
I don’t think we ever truly “move on” from anything in Warframe, so I can’t say this is going to be the final gameplay-centered upgrade for the Operator and Drifter. The Tauron Strikes were first conceptualized around probably 10 months ago and have changed forms a number of times since then to best suit Warframe’s current state. Our future storytelling choices will determine where and what we do next, so this is a big, grandiose change, and the team has done incredible work on the overall graphical and art remaster for the Operator and Drifter, but that doesn’t mean we’re done. These new abilities are a new kind of school project we can keep expanding. – Megan Everett
Special thanks to Digital Extremes for allowing us at Lords of Gaming the opportunity to ask these questions, and I hope you enjoy the read, dear viewer!
