WARFRAME is a 2013 free-to-play science fiction cooperative third person shooter video game both developed and published by Digital Extremes for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One (for Xbox Live Gold members), PlayStation 4 (for both free and plus membership users), and was previously available within GamersFirst Live.

Warframe is set in a distant future where the solar system is dominated between the Grineer, an empire race of militarized clones; the Corpus, a mega-corporation merchant cult with advanced robotics and laser technology; and the Infested, the name for a disease and its victims that devours all. The players takes the role of a Tenno, an ancient warrior created by the Orokin to battle a mysterious foe but left to slumber generations ago, until woken by an entity called the Lotus for the sole purpose of reuniting the scattered, war-torn colonies throughout the system.

The players are always pitted against enemies in superior numbers. To this end, players have at their disposal a varied arsenal of weapons both archaic and modern, and most notably, their most powerful weapon–the titular Warframe, each of which has a particular set of abilities. Despite being primarily a shooter game, the gameplay has a definite focus on the synchronization of players’ arsenal, allowing for limitless creativity in combat.

New players are encouraged to check out the official Quick Start Guide and the Codex in-game to gain a preliminary knowledge of the game’s mechanics.

Warframe situates players as members of the Tenno race, newly awoken after years of cryo-sleep into a solar system at war. Reborn into a corrupt era, the Tenno are sought by the oppressive Grineer Empire for annihilation. Warframe armor is the key to overthrowing the Grineer by providing players with unique offensive and defensive powers to explore, upgrade and master during purpose-driven radical raids.

Reception

Warframe received “mixed or average reviews” on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. GameZone’s Mike Splechta said of the PlayStation 4 version, “If you already enjoy games like Monster Hunter which require you to farm for items in order to craft better ones, Warframe follows that very same formula, except with much more satisfying and faster paced combat.” However, as of 2018 PC Gamer said that “Warframe’s growth doesn’t resemble a well-tended plant—it’s more like a mutant science experiment. Game systems are haphazardly stitched onto one other in ways that are sometimes incoherent, but oddly charming all the same.”

The game is among one of the most-played games available on Steam. Digital Extremes attributes the success of the title to the frequent updates they are developing for the game and the game’s fanbase. Digital Extremes describes the game as a “rogue success”, as the game is able to secure and sustain a large number of players without gaining significant attention from other people. More than 26 million players had played the game since launch by April 2016, and by March 2018, five years from its open beta, had reached 38 million players. In July 2016, Digital Extremes launched its first Warframe-dedicated “Tennocon” in London, an event than drew 1000 players, where they announced news of upcoming features and updates to the game. and has since run the event annually.