Digital Extremes’ Rebecca Ford took to the stage during The Game Awards tonight to reveal the release date for Warframe’s next narrative chapter, Warframe: 1999, launching Friday, Dec. 13 across all platforms.
As the most ambitious addition to the nearly 12-year-strong sci-fi action game yet, this Narrative Chapter offers a single-player Quest full of new characters to build lifelong friendships and romance with, the 59th Warframe named Cyte-09, four new mission types, the game’s first fully voiced line of transforming cosmetic skins, and new enemy factions, among many more features.
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“The clock is ticking and the countdown to midnight officially begins tomorrow,” said Rebecca Ford, Creative Director. “Our venture into the ‘what if’ Y2K scenario of 1999 has been a passion project for so many of us. We’ve done everything we can to pack this update with romance, music, action, and most importantly, core Warframe gameplay.”
She continued: “I am so proud of what our team has accomplished and even more excited for all the ‘90s kids to find all the references we’ve baked in. Thank you to the Warframe community for trusting us for almost 12 years as we take big swings like this!”
In celebration of Warframe: 1999’s launch, a collaboration between Warframe and Game of the Year nominee, Balatro, is also available now as a part of their Friends of Jimbo 3 update. Customize the King, Queen, and Jack cards with Warframe’s iconic Excalibur, Mag, and Volt to maneuver your card hand toward a new high score alongside other iconic franchises.
And that’s just scratching the surface of what was announced.
What’s Coming to Warframe: 1999
New adventures, enemies, and more!
Travel back to an alternate version 1999 in an expansive single-player Quest and bond with the six Protoframe members of The Hex as they defend the city of Höllvania against the threat of two new enemy factions, the Scaldra army and Techrot infestation.
Work together and track down the one responsible for their suffering, Dr. Entrati, before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. Saddle up on the latest vehicle mount, the Atomicycle, capable of drifting, bullet-jumping, and even propelling itself into enemies to cause a huge explosion.
Become Cyte-09
Scope out the enemy’s weaknesses as Cyte-09, the 59th Warframe. Place scanners to see and shoot enemies through walls, drop elemental ammo packs for yourself or allies, fall back and reposition with cloaking tech, or summon Cyte-09’s Exalted sniper rifle, Neutralizer, equipped with ricocheting bullets and a freezing grenade launcher. Expand your arsenal even further with two new weapons: the assault rifle, Reconifex, and the secondary pistol, Vesper 77.
Explore Höllvania City
Players can explore the new Höllvania City environment across four fresh mission types. Split eight players into two squads in an objective-based relay race in Faceoff, the first ever PvPvE game type for Warframe. Partner up with fan-favorite feline, Kalymos, in Legacyte Harvest to help her purge the Techrot and hunt for Legacytes. Clean the streets of Höllvania in Hell-Scrub by protecting the Hell-Scrubbers from Techrot corruption until it’s time for extraction. Take on the kill contract for a new major boss enemy in the H-09 Efervon Tank Assassanation.
New Sets of Characters
Fight alongside and against a fresh cast of characters featuring renowned voice talent like Amelia Tyler (Baldur’s Gate 3), Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI), Nick Apostolides (Resident Evil 4 Remake), and Neil Newbon (Baldur’s Gate 3). Send private chat messages with Protoframes on the K.I.M. console in a first-ever for Warframe, the relationship and romance system, to learn their backstories, deepest secrets, and maybe even spark a romance for the ages (or forge an everlong friendship).
It’s Fashion, Baby!
Take in-game fashion to a higher level with a new tier of fully voiced and customizable cosmetics, Gemini Skins. Transmute Excalibur, Mag, Volt, Nyx, Trinity, and Cyte-09 into their Protoframe counterparts and vice-versa with a flashy transformation emote. Plus, customize the color of their hair, eyes, and gear.
A Game Within a Game
Spend some time in the Höllvania Central Mall’s arcade and land a high score in Caliber Chicks 2, an original ‘90s-era run n’ gun side-scroller developed in partnership with Sumo Digital. Jillian and Lillian Killian are the acclaimed Caliber Chicks: Supreme Operatives of the Unified Kingdom’s Defence Force and the only ones capable of defeating the evil Anna Ki and rescuing the kidnapped President.
New Updates to the Community Artist Program
New additions to the collaborative community artist program TennoGen will also arrive in Warframe: 1999. Bring back the ‘90s style for your Operator and Drifter with the Frame Friend Earring, Butterfly Wings Sunglasses, F19 Condroc Headphones, Millennium Visor Cap, or Choroid Eye Accessory.
Technical Fixes
The game also brings various quality-of-life improvements, such as light reworks for Trinity and Nyx, increased capacity for weapon and Warframe slots, and the removal of Mastery Rank Test cooldowns on failed attempts.
The Oh-So-Sweet Tunes
Jam out to the most musically packed Warframe content to date, in and out of the game. Warframe: 1999’s soundtrack will be fully available on streaming platforms Friday, Dec. 13, as well as on a physical LP for sale in the Warframe Merch Store featuring hits like On-lyne’s “PARTY OF YOUR LIFETIME” and the Atomicycle theme “The Call.”
Gamers, mark your calendars for Friday the 13th, and get yourself ready for the latest narrative chapter in Warframe – Warframe: 1999. For further updates on the game, or if you’re interested in getting more details, visit the official website.
