Digital Extremes finally reveal Warframe: Tau, the sci-fi shooter’s long-awaited second solar system, and it’s a gruesome place indeed
Digital Extremes announced Warframe: Tau at TennoCon, introducing the long-awaited second solar system expansion centred on the Sentients faction. The debut area, Fornax, is a dystopian ringed city constructed within a colossal biomechanical corpse, where residents struggle with addiction to a substance called the Bloom. The environment blends noir storytelling with grotesque organic architecture spanning three districts: lower tunnels where addicted inhabitants live in squalor, middle sections filled with hovercars evoking classic American aesthetics, and an upper casino district with holographic entertainment.
The expansion introduces Brysko, a hard-boiled detective-themed Chimera Warframe who navigates Fornax's criminal underworld to confront the city's crime lord ruler. New gameplay systems include Portau, a poker-inspired card game, explosive card combat attacks, and grappleshot mechanics for traversal and enemy engagement. The narrative explicitly engages with themes of addiction and gambling, whilst the expansion launches this year alongside autumn updates featuring a new ice-element Warframe and a Banshee rework; progression through existing story content remains required for new players to access Tau.
In short
- Digital Extremes unveiled Warframe: Tau, a second solar system expansion launching this year
- New area Fornax features noir aesthetics, biomechanical architecture, addiction/gambling themes, and new Chimera Warframe Brysko
- Includes poker-inspired card game, grappleshot mechanics, and autumn updates with new ice Warframe
Explained simply
Warframe is a free-to-play science fiction action game where players use armoured suits called Warframes in fast-paced combat. Developer Digital Extremes has announced a major expansion called Warframe: Tau, which adds an entirely new solar system to the game for the first time since its launch.
The expansion is set in Fornax, a dystopian ringed city built inside the remains of a colossal alien creature, where inhabitants struggle with addiction to a substance called the Bloom. The story follows Brysko, a new detective Warframe, as they navigate the city's criminal underworld and its ruling crime lord.
The expansion introduces new gameplay mechanics including a card game and grappleshot abilities for movement and combat. Digital Extremes is releasing the expansion this year alongside other updates featuring new and reworked Warframes, though existing players will need to have progressed through the game's story content before accessing the new solar system.