Warframe is today considered a prime example of service games and a fair free-to-play model. However, the path to that point was difficult; developer Digital Extremes faced multiple crises – and ultimately made a risky decision.
1993: Student James Schmalz realizes his dream and founds a game studio called Digital Extremes in his home province of Ontario, Canada. Number of employees: one, namely just James.
His first game is a pinball machine developed for Epic MegaGames. His Epic Pinball rightfully becomes a bestseller, and Epic naturally wants a sequel. But James is creatively burned out, so he hires a small team to take care of the new pinball machine.
He himself continues his education: 3D animation becomes his favorite activity – a damn good choice!
The Step into Independence
Digital Extremes remains loyal to Epic. Together, they develop a certain shooter called Unreal, and the partnership lasts until Unreal Tournament 2004. One of the first UT programmers, Steve Sinclair, is now actually the chief developer of Warframe.
But back to the year 2004: By now, Digital Extremes has grown to a respectable size. Too big for Epic – the two studios part ways. Digital Extremes begins working on its own game, a sci-fi action MMO called Dark Sector.
But without a publisher, it’s hard to finance the studio, so Digital Extremes takes on many contract jobs. The team develops, among other things, the multiplayer mode for Bioshock 2 and the action game based on the film Star Trek: Into Darkness (2009).
However, Digital Extremes continually tries to win a publisher willing to release Dark Sector with them. Time and time again, they are told that no one buys sci-fi games anymore and that these strange suits we now know as Warframes are just … a bit odd.
Digital Extremes subsequently reworks the game – it gets a human protagonist and develops more in the direction of Resident Evil 4 meets Gears of War. With success: in 2008, they finally get contracts with several publishers, and in 2009 Dark Sector is released on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, but receives rather mixed reviews.
In Crisis
Despite the revenue from Dark Sector, Digital Extremes is heading towards ruin, as the studio must pay around 250 heads monthly. The team starts a new project with the working title “Lotus” – the namesake flower is today one of the symbols of Warframe.
But the story of Dark Sector repeats itself. No publisher believes in the sci-fi game with the strange suits. Because Lotus not only has odd outfits but also an unusual concept: it should be a free-to-play, purely cooperative MMO, wrapped in the same crazy sci-fi world that was once the vision of Dark Sector.
Can this even be financed? No matter where they knock – the developers only ever get one answer: “No.” Founder James Schmalz should actually lay off employees now, but he resists. He wants to launch Lotus himself, without a publisher.
The financial cushioning is getting thinner, because without a publisher the studio not only bears all personnel and development costs but also has to finance the marketing, among other things.
The dwindling capital will not last even a year. In this tight timeframe, Lotus must launch.
Financial False Start
At that time, the free-to-play model was still unusual. Digital Extremes uses the free MMO World of Tanks as a model. The master plan: you don’t have to release a complete game from the start – how about just launching a small portion, gathering player feedback, and developing it together with them?
In 2013, the beta starts, featuring only one level and one playable character. From the working title Lotus, Warframe has become. The MMO shooter finances itself solely through microtransactions. The problem: the game has steep paywalls.
You can only play up to a certain level and must pay afterwards. Those who die and want to respawn more than four times will be charged. The inventory can only be doubled through real money. This list goes on, but it’s worth noting that the game is still far from being polished, and hardly anyone is willing to pay extra for it.
Warframe is on the verge of failure, although many like the game in its core. Despite the criticism and the paywalls, a hard core of players forms who love Warframe. They want the free-to-play shooter to grow further – and urge the developers to remove the paywalls.
The Turning Point
So in 2015, Digital Extremes faced a tough decision – and decided to listen to the community and reduce the paywalls. A fair free-to-play model was introduced, allowing players the choice to voluntarily pay for the game.
This primarily includes a wide selection of decorations for their own spaceship and of course cosmetics for the character. It’s the right decision. Because the community feels taken seriously and respected, this close bond with the studio shapes Warframe to this day.
In addition, a new movement system named Parkour 2.0 is introduced in 2015, granting the swift Warframes incredible speed and agility. The new system is received very well and becomes the trademark of Warframe. Gunfights, skill storms, and melee combat flow seamlessly into each other, making players feel like space ninjas.
Now, it’s a significant advantage to have a team of 250 developers. Because all of them have accumulated so much knowledge and practical experience over the past hard years that they can quickly and continually develop and adapt Warframe to player demands.
From Underdog to Top Dog
It isn’t until 2017 that the MMO shooter achieves its definitive breakthrough with its first open-world expansion. As of 2019, Warframe boasts around 50 million players and is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
But this is far from the end of the road, as the game is supposed to stay alive, and there will continue to be major updates, with each planet in its solar system eventually getting an open world.
Not bad for a small studio that started with a pinball machine.
More about Warframe in Our Special Edition
This article by MeinMMO editor Leya Jankowski chronicles the journey of Digital Extremes and was specifically written for the special edition on Warframe. The magazine has been created in close cooperation with Digital Extremes itself.
What kind of magazine is this? Along with our dear sister publication, GameStar, we have created this special edition for newcomers, returnees, and collectors.
On a total of 146 pages, you will find plenty of guides on playable Warframes, weapons, systems, or animal companions. There are also some background info, like this historical article about the game.
There are also free loot in the magazine. We managed to get free codes worth over 22 euros from Digital Extremes for you! You can activate the codes on your platform of choice: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch.
Order the Warframe special edition now- How much does the magazine cost? €9.99 – When you order the magazine, shipping is included in the price.
- When will the magazine be in stores? December 13, 2019
Pre-order customers have the advantage of receiving the magazine as an e-paper version and gaining immediate access with their order.
Or you can try your luck with our raffle! Here is the raffle for our Warframe special edition.
