Digital Extremes hopes Soulframe will establish its own identity beyond the long-running success of Warframe by offering a more hopeful fantasy world and slower, more deliberate combat. The studio believes its new game matters because it provides a contrast to increasingly bleak real-world conditions and to the bombastic design associated with both Warframe and many live-service games.

Set on a medieval planet invaded by the spacefaring Ode, Soulframe casts players as an Envoy allied with ancient Fey spirits who rescues creatures affected by the invaders. Design director Scott McGregor said the game will favour timing-based melee duels over Warframe’s rapid parkour and overwhelming combat, while still offering a power fantasy at a cosier, less explosive scale. Its combat is intended to reward player skill even with weaker equipment, drawing some inspiration from Elden Ring.