Warframe: 1999 Interview – Something New And Fresh

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Explore And Make Memories In The 90's Era!

Story Highlight
  • 1999 is an expansion to Warframe set to release in December 2024.
  • The expansion, as the name suggests, is set in the 1990s, which differs greatly from the base game’s futuristic setting. 
  • Before the release, we spoke with the studio’s community director, Megan Everett, to learn more about the expansion. 

Warframe: 1999, a massive expansion in the well-known free-to-play online looter shooter, is set to release in the coming December. While the release date is currently unknown, a demo was released last month, giving players a glimpse of what to expect. 

This is the first time the developer has decided to explore a historical era with an expansion, which might make fans wonder where the game is heading in the future. To know more about that, we recently interviewed Megan Everett, the community director at Digital Extremes.

During our interview, we delve into the game’s setting, the developer’s expectations regarding the title, and future expansions. 

Warframe 1999
Warframe: 1999 Is An Upcoming Expansion That Will Take Players Back In Time For Some Lore Bombs
Warframe:1999 is the first expansion in the history of the franchise to explore a historical era compared to the base game’s futuristic setting. What inspired the team to go for a 1990s era?

Megan Everett: After the conclusion of The New War, we basically went to kick off a new narrative arc, and, sometimes, in order to go forward, you need to go back to the beginning. We wanted to explore an alternate version of the Warframes’ origins, how that ties into our current “main forces” of this narrative arc (Albrecht Entrati and The Man In The Wall), and do it in a nostalgic setting that our players could feel an unfamiliar familiarity to. A lot of which we owe to Dark Sector, which serves as one of our primary inspirations for 1999. Especially since Warframe wouldn’t be here without it! Our dev team is full of people with beloved memories around the ‘90s and it’s a decade with such iconic imagery, it just gave us a ton to play with.

Is it a one-time thing, or do the developers intend to explore other eras and aesthetics in future updates?

Megan Everett: We don’t want to totally lose sight of Warframe’s core setting and identity, right? It’s a melodramatic space opera epic, and we can’t go on a time romp through every era of Earth’s pop culture. It’s fun to take a break from the main setting and try something new and weird that fits the game style, but we will always return to Warframe’s core.

The game has greatly stood the test of time and only grown popular, but was there any specific feedback from the community that influenced the development of Warframe 1999?

Megan Everett: Community feedback is always influencing the game. It’s our belief that that’s why Warframe has lasted as long as it has. We just made a number of changes to the new player experience in our Koumei & The Five Fates update, so we will always be listening for feedback around every moment in Warframe, not just the latest content. We’re already getting great feedback from the 1999 demo we put out last month, such as some movement changes to how the Atomicycle feels. Regarding specifics in the full 1999 launch, though, you’ll just have to play to see exactly what and how the community responds. No spoilers from me!

The addition of the dynamic calendar system with rotating seasons and the romance feature is something fans already appreciate, but are there any ongoing plans to include them in the main game or further updates later down the road?

Megan Everett: The romance feature was specifically designed around 1999. It functions through an old-school instant messenger system called KOL on a computer to emulate the experience some of us grew up with in the ‘90s and early 2000s. I’m not sure it would hit the same way in a far-future setting. The seasons system for Höllvania is a new experiment for us, and if players like it, we’ll keep that in mind for future ideas!

The Atomicycle mount is unique and already popular compared to other Warframe mounts. Can we expect the developers to whip up even more unusual and lore-specific mounts in the future?

Megan Everett: You can always count on us trying new, weird things in Warframe! We’ll see where the journey takes us.

How many hours of content can Warframe:1999 provide for players looking to explore its every nook and cranny?

Megan Everett: Every player is different. Some like to stop and smell the roses; others are interested in getting through content and unlocking the next best thing. The Warframe: 1999 Quest won’t be as long as The New War, but it is still a sizable chunk of story, gameplay with several easter eggs, and other shiny things to play with and find that go well beyond the single-player campaign.

Besides the nostalgia, does Warframe:1999 feature any hidden easter eggs or references to the 90s era that players should look out for?

Megan Everett: When we had our TennoCon Relay social hub, which was set in the Höllvania Mall, players quickly found our Half-Life Gordan Freeman easter egg. But saying if there are more ruins the surprise of discovery… so I’ll just say keep an eye out while you have a good time, and you won’t be disappointed at some of the ‘90s references we’ve baked in.

What are your expectations regarding Warframe:1999’s reception?

Megan Everett: We have no expectations! We have hopes, we have dreams, but we would never expect things to go a specific way. Our community keeps us humble and lets us know when we missed the mark and we always take it to heart.

YouTube video

Since Warframe is set in futuristic events, it would be great for fans to explore the world’s historical events. The developer aims to try out more fun and weird ideas for the future but intends to return to Warframe’s core. Fans can expect some more crazy ideas, and we hope they have fun exploring the 90s era.

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