With “The New War”, the latest and largest expansion of Warframe will be released on December 15. MeinMMO author Marko Jevtic got to see more in advance. His impression: “The New War” is more than just an exciting new story quest. It is also the first step towards a kind of Warframe 2.0.
Warframe has been playable for almost 9 years. Since then, the game has continuously evolved and grown. The Warframe that can be played today is much more mature than the one from back then. But it is still recognizable as the same game. Tenno, Lotus, Warframes: New players will find the same core structures today as the veterans – to which I belong.
I was all the more surprised when the story trailer for “The New War” was released. It makes clear hints that Warframe wants to go beyond these core structures. With this, the trailer deeply touched fans.
My deeper look at the expansion even gives me the impression: After “The New War”, a kind of Warframe 2.0 begins. And I think that’s exactly right. Because that is the most exciting and best direction that Warframe can currently take.
When is the expansion coming? “The New War” will be released on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, on Steam, Epic Games, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch. It is free like all Warframe expansions, but unlike most content in the game, it can only be played solo.
What have I seen from the expansion? Digital Extremes showcased more of “The New War” at a virtual press event. Rebecca Ford, Community Director and Live OPS, showed about 30 minutes of gameplay. After that, the attending journalists and content creators were allowed to ask questions, which were answered in detail.
Expansion sounds like a ‘season finale’
The press event mainly gave me the impression that “The New War” is supposed to be more than just good new content.
The expansion feels more like a season finale for the exciting story that Warframe has been telling since 2018. Starting in 2022, a second season of Warframe will begin – seemingly with a new story and new ambitions. For me, that sounds like a kind of Warframe 2.0.
What has been said about the expansion? Rebecca Ford is the voice of the Lotus and in a way the face of Warframe in the community. It was striking to me how precisely she talked about “The New War”. Just as important as the expansion itself was for Rebecca Ford the time after. This solidifies my idea that “The New War” is a kind of season finale for Warframe. As well as several other reasons:
“The New War” will conclude Warframe’s most important storylines to date – and then tell new ones. The expansion is the first major story progression in almost 4 years.
The expansion itself is said to last about 5 hours. New players will have to play around 30 hours to reach the New War. As with a story-driven series, one must be involved from ‘the first season’ onwards to understand everything and enjoy the season finale and the new season.
That’s why the game’s marketing is also openly addressing one of the biggest plot twists in Warframe’s history for the first time: The Operator is no longer the best-kept secret in the community. Therefore, the personal story of the Operator will play a larger role – and like with some series, the actors for the Operator have been changed. The new voices fit better with the story they want to tell from now on, it is said.
What will come after the expansion? Rebecca Ford has repeatedly talked about the “world after The New War”. Everything that happens in the world of Warframe from 2022 onwards will take place after the end of the expansion. The story of “The New War” will leave “scars” in the world of Warframe, says Rebecca Ford. She did not want to give details. However, the changes are supposed to be clearly noticeable.
Players must finish “The New War” if they want to experience the latest content from 2022 onwards. Therefore, the developers expect that all players interested in the story and new content will complete “The New War”.
How do I categorize the expansion? Even if Rebecca Ford didn’t phrase it nearly as explicitly and probably wouldn’t phrase it that way: The Warframe that will be playable after “The New War” sounds to me like a successor under an old name.
The cyber-samurai Teshin is one of the playable characters 
Veso lets his robot friends fight for him 
The Grineer soldier is already a fan favorite thanks to his dialogues 
The war in “The New War” is shown from many perspectives
Old storylines will be concluded while new ones begin. New storytelling methods are intended to give the world and its characters more depth. And the previously strictly secret, biggest story twists are viewed as the foundation for the future.
This sounds to me like one could talk about “Warframe 2.0” in 2022. These are very exciting news for me. Especially if the Warframe of the future maintains the direction that “The New War” seems to take. This is also reflected in equally exciting and ambitious gameplay experiments.
New gameplay elements like in Persona 5 confirm my impression
Rebecca Ford showed a longer sequence that is completely atypical for Warframe. In the scene, you play an unknown character from a first-person perspective in a legendary location for Warframe lore fans. The context is a classroom, the “final boss” is an exam. You as a player must answer the questions correctly and show that you paid attention in Warframe class. This classroom sequence inspired by Persona 5 reveals Warframe’s new ambitions: The game wants to be more than just a good shooter.
With the first gameplay impressions of “The New War” at TennoCon 2021 (via YouTube), one of the biggest changes was brought to the forefront:
With “The New War”, Warframe is trying for the first time to tell the story from several active perspectives. This includes characters who have previously been your opponents. These new perspectives significantly change the Warframe experience – and not just due to noticeably different gameplay:
Thanks to the many perspectives, the world of Warframe feels more alive. The conflicts that the player is involved in carry more weight. The character of the Tenno seems at the same time more mystical and less alone in the universe. Digital Extremes also speaks of a 3-act structure in “The New War” – hinting at larger story ambitions.
I did not expect that Warframe could entice me again
I played Warframe for the first time on the release day of PlayStation 4 – that was November 2013. In the years since then, I have come back from time to time, but the game could never captivate me for the long term. This was also due to the limited storytelling and the known gameplay structures: As much fun as it is to glide through the levels as a space ninja – that alone was not enough for me in the long run.
My impressions of “The New War” are therefore much more positive than I expected. Digital Extremes has always understood that looter-shooters are fun due to their repeatability. But with “The New War”, they also show an understanding that a story should not follow the same strict, risk-averse structures.
By using bold and experimental storytelling methods and perspectives, the developers of Warframe can entice me again. I did not expect that. But that is exactly why I am even more excited about the expansion and the unofficial “Warframe 2.0.”
As a game, Warframe remains a looter-shooter. But the universe of Warframe will apparently be more than just a collection of farming routes for the latest weapons and armor from “The New War” onward. The Warframe of the future apparently increasingly sees itself as a collection of exciting stories, interesting characters, and profound ideas.
This direction is not only ambitious, it is the right one for Warframe. If the Warframe of the future keeps the promises of “The New War”, it will be an unofficial Warframe 2.0 and appeal greatly to both new and old players.
