Warframe has made an enormous leap on Steam. The online shooter has managed to conquer the top of the free-to-play bestsellers. It is noticeable that Path of Exile has also secured a place at the top – the two games are more similar at their core than one might initially suspect.
On Reddit, the user SoulCraftey noticed that Warframe has for the first time surpassed Dota 2 and secured the first place among the free titles as a bestseller. For the bestseller list, the platform measures the total revenue a game earns through Steam.
Warframe recently reached a new player peak: With the story quest “Sacrifice”, 129,002 players logged into the online shooter simultaneously. This broke Warframe’s old record of 121,377 players. This growth has likely also contributed to the economic success. Dota 2, on the other hand, has a current record of 1,291,328 players logged in simultaneously and is financed, among other things, by a Battle Pass.
Warframe is funded through microtransactions: Community is willing to pay
What do players buy in Warframe? The base game of Warframe is free, and it is possible to earn all relevant content without spending a cent. However, new weapons or Warframes can also be purchased through microtransactions. Additionally, there are various cosmetic items for the characters, pets and housing. It is also possible to speed up some processes in the game with real money.
Warframe has some hefty prices: Whoever wants can spend a lot of money in Warframe. For example, there is the so-called Prime Access. The most expensive version of this package costs nearly 125 euros, which includes the respective Prime Warframe and additional benefits such as extra Platinum or cosmetics. However, there are also cheaper items for a smaller budget.
Players perceive the payment model as fair and even welcome high prices: In the end, no one gains a real advantage by purchasing items in the game with real money. Only time can be saved here. Some even perceive it as good that one has to dig deep into their pockets. This way, one would think carefully about whether it is really worth giving up the free grind.
Interesting: Path of Exile and Warframe are together at the top
Path of Exile and Warframe have more in common than one might initially think: Both games …
- had a release in 2013
- have a strong focus on PvE
- are considered underdogs in the minds of many players
- involve a grind for better and better equipment
- have building stronger and sometimes crazy builds as core gameplay
- have built a loyal community
Warframe is an online shooter and Path of Exile is a hack-and-slash, both promoting a hard grind and experimentation with builds. Path of Exile also has, like Warframe, quite expensive microtransactions that players are willing to purchase.
Both games are no longer underdogs, but still feel like it
Warframe was even among the absolute top earners on Steam in 2017. Path of Exile was still in the top 40. Both games were long considered free-to-play underdogs, which players willingly supported with their wallets. With these numbers and sizes, it is already difficult to still speak of an underdog. In the free-to-play market, both games have grown into significant sizes.
The charm of the underdog remains nonetheless: In both cases, the games (still) do not feel like the polished AAA game when logging in. The graphics are partly quite outdated, and there are also some curious bugs.
The developers still maintain close contact with the community. Digital Extremes (Warframe) holds regular dev streams. Here, the developers sit comfortably on the couch and present new features in the game. It feels as if one is watching a group of friends hanging out in a living room.
Grinding Gear Games (Path of Exile) also seeks direct contact. The studio was recently largely acquired by the Chinese giant Tencent. However, the developers remained transparent and promptly published a letter explaining their reasons. This was well received in the community.
Those who financially support both games can still feel like they are helping “the little guy. This preserved and down-to-earth charm is simply well received.
Whether Warframe and Path of Exile will establish themselves as permanent top sellers remains to be seen: Just recently, both games received major updates (Sacrifice in Warframe and Incursion in Path of Exile), which likely gave the games a boost. This may well be temporary.
However, the steady (financial) growth of Warframe is impressive and likely owes a lot to the tireless community building. We have already addressed this topic in detail on Mein MMO:
