Why Soulframe Won't Draw Players Away from Warframe

Warframe has experienced tremendous success for Digital Extremes, with consistent growth in content and player numbers 12 years after its launch. However, this success does not guarantee the triumph of their next venture, Soulframe. The company is well aware of this challenge, especially considering the current gaming landscape, where live-service games are abundant and fiercely competing for audiences. Many live-service games have been shut down prematurely, resulting in significant layoffs for developers. According to Sheldon Carter, president of Digital Extremes, 'It's a different time, and the way games are launched has changed. We've decided to go back to our roots.' The company has been gradually building Soulframe by releasing small snippets of the game, known as preludes, and allowing more players to join in. This approach is a testament to Digital Extremes' respect and gratitude for their community, which has been instrumental in Warframe's success. The community-driven development of Warframe, which was on the verge of collapse when it was first released, has only grown stronger over the years. Carter emphasizes that 'our ethos at DE is to build with the community,' and this principle guides their approach to Soulframe as well. The question remains: where will Soulframe's audience come from? While Digital Extremes has access to a massive active user base through Warframe, tapping into this audience could lead to cannibalization, resulting in significant resource expenditure for negligible gain. Carter is confident that the differences between the two games are substantial enough to avoid this. 'I think the games are, in a way, complete opposites of each other. Warframe is fast-paced, sci-fi, and action-oriented, whereas Soulframe is slower, romantic, and fantasy-based.' Although some audience crossover is inevitable, Carter believes it will not significantly impact the Soulframe player base. 'The Soulframe audience might be someone who grew up playing Zelda, enjoys Elden Ring, but finds it too challenging. This audience is quite different from Warframe's core audience.' Soulframe's gameplay, which involves freeing animals and exploring vast environments, is a marked departure from Warframe's 'bullet jumping' and parkour mechanics. Carter notes that the pace and themes of the two games are 'yin and yang' to each other, and while it's possible for Warframe fans to enjoy Soulframe, the latter is targeting a distinct type of player. This explains why there have been no in-game events or promotions for Soulframe in Warframe. Instead, players who register on the Soulframe website are added to a waiting list for invites, providing an opportunity for segmentation analysis to better understand the audience. The preludes build has been running for about a year and a half, and despite the lack of monetization, it has allowed Digital Extremes to gather crucial feedback from players. Involving players at such an early stage of development has provided invaluable insights, enabling the company to interpret and act on feedback before the game's release. 'Last year at Tennocon was a huge moment for us,' says Carter. 'The community loved some aspects of what we showed, but they also provided harsh feedback on our combat mechanics. We had to reassess and make changes.' Due to Warframe's continued success, Digital Extremes is taking a careful and deliberate approach with Soulframe, prioritizing community feedback and taking the time to get it right. 'We're proud that we're evolving with the community,' says Carter. 'We're combining subjective feedback from the community with data from our stats backend to get a clear picture of what's working and what isn't.' While Soulframe is not yet ready for public release, the company is focused on polishing the central progression mechanics before implementing them into the preludes build. Once the prelude stage is complete, and a public build is released, Soulframe will rely on breaking down the barrier between developer and player to find its audience. 'For us, the game is about community,' says Carter. 'We'll do the necessary marketing, but our approach is more about seeking the community and building a player base.' The plan is for Soulframe to grow slowly but strongly, rather than releasing with a massive marketing push and expecting instant success. 'That's just our way,' affirms Carter. 'Warframe didn't become an overnight success; it took years of building, and we know how to work that way.' With a strong emphasis on community, Digital Extremes' ambition for Soulframe is that if they build it, the players will come.