Development History

0:39 Digital Extremes announced Soulframe at TennoCon on Jul 16, 2022, opened its first closed test in Dec 2023, and has built the game in public through Preludes, its pre-alpha, ever since; a public opening promised for fall 2024 and a hoped-for 2025 launch both slipped, and no release date exists as of Oct 21, 2026. The studio's own "Preludes: Gameplay" video from Aug 2023 shows how early the game was then: a hooded Envoy walks alone through a misty, sunlit forest of a 2023 build that has since been reworked many times. Work began years before the reveal, after a 2016 forecast inside the studio that Warframe was declining. This page follows the game year by year; today's state is on Soulframe, the next step on Open Preludes, and the date question on Release Date.

Quick facts

Before the reveal (2016 to 2022)

Soulframe began as a hedge against Warframe's decline. Steve Sinclair told Game Informer in Apr 2026 that the game exists because a staff statistician predicted in 2016 that Warframe was declining, which turned out to be wrong, and that the team committed to Soulframe before asking its owners: "Yeah, this was the beg forgiveness." Digital Extremes' president told The Game Business in Jul 2026 that work began about five years earlier and that staff moved over gradually across about two years.

2022: the reveal

Digital Extremes revealed Soulframe at TennoCon 2022 on Jul 16, 2022 with a cinematic trailer, calling it a free-to-play "action hybrid-MMORPG" "in early development", and opened Envoy name registration at soulframe.com. In his open letter that day Sinclair wrote that "Soulframe development has officially just begun" and that he wanted "to spend as much time with Soulframe as I have with Warframe"; Geoff Crookes was named Creative Director. Crookes cited The NeverEnding Story and Princess Mononoke as influences and said: "We knew we wanted to offer a stylistic contrast to Warframe." Soon after, Sinclair said it was not a Soulsborne game, a confusion the name still invites.

2023: first gameplay and the first test

2:18 Soulframe was first played on stage at TennoCon 2023 on Aug 26, 2023, a 30-minute demo that Digital Extremes also posted as "Preludes: Gameplay". In this stretch of that 2023 build, a small green creature with a round head talks to the Envoy in subtitled dialogue from inside a large pod, and the Envoy then reaches a tent standing on still water and walks inside. A short combat prototype had appeared months earlier, on Mar 22, 2023, in Warframe's tenth-anniversary Devstream. On Nov 24, 2023 Sinclair announced the first closed tests for December, PC only, starting with about 100 people drawn from the name sign-ups. Many things shown in 2023, such as a bear mount, are not in today's game.

2024: Preludes, the NDA and the first delay

0:13 In 2024 Soulframe became "Preludes", got its own Devstreams, and missed its first public target. Devstream 1 at TennoCon 2024 (Jul 20, 2024) showed the opening quest and promised Preludes "to the public in fall 2024"; on Oct 25, 2024 Megan Everett called wider access "a 2025 endeavor", with Warframe: 1999 drawing resources and about 2,000 keys a week going out. The NDA on Preludes was lifted on Nov 6, 2024. The year ended with the teaser Digital Extremes titled "Coming in 2025" (Dec 6, 2024): an armored Envoy walks a forest beside a giant white wolf, fights red-armored foes with green Magick, and stands with the wolf on a cliff. By then the studio counted 7 major Preludes updates and had sent 10,000 invites in December; Preludes 8 slipped into January. The wolf is Orengall (Omen Beasts).

2025: open weekends, a missed launch and Founders

3:48 In 2025 Digital Extremes opened the doors wider, hoped to launch, and instead started selling Founders packs. Preludes 8 (Jan 22, 2025) added Orengall's Fable and the Silent Rose Enclave, and Devstream 7 (Apr 25, 2025) gave the first Preludes invites by Twitch Drop. At TennoCon 2025 (Jul 19, 2025) the studio let in everyone who had signed up; in Devstream 9 (Sep 12, 2025) the team recalls that "everyone that signed up before TennoCon was invited". That July a 2025 launch became an "aspirational goal", and Crookes said: "I'm going to be flakey here and say we have ambitions ... We're going to judge where we are in the fall." Soulframe did not launch in 2025. Preludes 11 (Oct 8, 2025) brought The Waste Bear Fable, and on Nov 25, 2025 Founders went on sale with Preludes 12: Wylds while the Steam page went live (Founders Packs).

6:42 Founders also ended the account wipes that marked Preludes' first year. Asked in the "Founders FAQ with Steve and Sarah" video (Nov 19, 2025) whether there will be more resets, Sinclair answers "we're not going to do any resets", with the caveat that reworked systems may refund points or swap items like for like, "but we're not going to be resetting accounts."

2026: Game Informer, Warsongs and Open Preludes

2:00 2026 brought Soulframe its widest attention yet. Game Informer put it on the cover of issue 377 after a studio visit (Mar 27 to Apr 17, 2026), and in Devstream 15 (May 29, 2026) the team holds up "the Game Informer cover", out "worldwide", and calls the issue's interviews about the development and the team "a fantastic read". Updates came faster: Preludes 13 (Feb 12), 14 (Apr 17), 14.5 (May 12), 15 (Jun 10) and 16 (Sep 18, 2026), which Asselin said were "continuing to release at a quicker pace". See Preludes Updates.

0:03 TennoCon 2026 (Jul 10 to 11, 2026) showed the Warsongs demo, the darkest Soulframe yet in the developers' words. The official Warsongs trailer opens on a white tent in the mist, then a woman in white and gold armor in a burning hall and a weeping, bearded man. That weekend's Open Preludes Weekend gave permanent access to everyone who had signed up by Jul 12, 2026, and Digital Extremes promised Warsongs and the first mount for later that fall (Warsongs, Wolf Pup and Mounts). On Oct 15, 2026, after 16 Preludes updates, it announced Open Preludes, in which anyone on PC can sign up and play without an invite, with no start date; Devstream 18 on Oct 30, 2026 is to say more.

Changes in direction

7:43 Soulframe has changed course often, and Digital Extremes says so openly. Introducing the Virtue Prisms in Devstream 12 (Jan 30, 2026), the team warns: "Big swings are coming to Soulframe for the meta and the game systems underneath", "a theme for the next probably 6 months". The main turns so far:

• Combat: in Dec 2024 Crookes said "We hear the feedback around combat and lack of social features"; parries, timing and weapon range have been retuned in update after update (Combat).
• Virtues: manual points until Preludes 12, Virtue Prisms in Preludes 13, Virtue Liths in Preludes 14.5 and per-Loadout alignment since Preludes 15, four systems in about a year (Virtues).
• Gear: since Preludes 15 most weapons drop fully crafted with random Tempers instead of being built from parts (Tempers and Crafting).
• The genre: "action hybrid-MMORPG" in 2022, "fantasy action RPG" in Digital Extremes' 2026 releases.
• The name: Sinclair has called the "Soul" in the title a poor choice because it invites Soulslike comparisons (reported by 3DJuegos from Game Informer in Apr 2026).

Digital Extremes' plan for 2026, written in Dec 2025, summed it up: "We're doubling down on the systems that define Soulframe. Virtues will matter more. The Nightfold will grow in purpose."

Frequently asked questions

When was Soulframe announced? Soulframe was announced by Digital Extremes at TennoCon 2022 on Jul 16, 2022, with a cinematic reveal trailer.

Has Soulframe been delayed? Yes. Soulframe's public opening, promised for fall 2024, slipped into 2025, and a hoped-for 2025 launch did not happen; Digital Extremes has given no release date since, as of Oct 21, 2026.

How long has Soulframe been in development? Soulframe's development began years before its Jul 2022 reveal, after a 2016 forecast inside Digital Extremes, and players have tested it in closed Preludes builds since Dec 2023.

When did Soulframe's pre-alpha start? Soulframe's first closed pre-alpha test began in Dec 2023 on PC, with a small group of invited players, and became the Preludes program in 2024.

Is Soulframe still in development? Yes. Soulframe is in Preludes, its pre-alpha, with Preludes 16 (Sep 18, 2026) as the current update and Open Preludes announced next, as of Oct 21, 2026.

Is Soulframe canceled? No. Digital Extremes released Preludes 16 on Sep 18, 2026 and announced Open Preludes on Oct 15, 2026.

Sources

• TennoCon 2022: Digital Extremes unveils new game Soulframe, Digital Extremes, Jul 16, 2022
• TennoCon 2022: open letters from Digital Extremes' Rebecca Ford and Steve Sinclair, Digital Extremes, Jul 16, 2022
• Soulframe interview, PCGamesN, updated Feb 23, 2023
• Soulframe gameplay slices out in surprise reveal, MP1st, Mar 2023
• Soulframe gameplay at TennoCon 2023, Shacknews, Aug 26, 2023
• Soulframe very early alpha tests begin December, MP1st, Nov 24, 2023
• Soulframe Preludes opens for everyone later this year, Destructoid, Jul 20, 2024
• Soulframe Preludes delayed, PCGamesN, Oct 25, 2024
• Non-Disclosure Agreement Update, Digital Extremes, Nov 6, 2024
• Soulframe shows off a new teaser trailer and a cool giant wolf, PC Gamer, Dec 7, 2024
• Soulframe Preludes: A Farewell to 2024, Digital Extremes, Dec 18, 2024
• Coming Soon: Devstream 7, Digital Extremes, Apr 21, 2025
• Soulframe Devstream 8, Digital Extremes, Jul 18, 2025
• Soulframe dev says launching in 2025 is now an aspirational goal, PC Gamer, Jul 20, 2025
• Preludes 11 Arrives, Digital Extremes, Oct 8, 2025
• Preludes 12: Wylds, Digital Extremes, Nov 26, 2025
• Farewell to 2025, looking ahead to 2026, Digital Extremes, Dec 18, 2025
• Cover reveal: Soulframe, Game Informer, Mar 27, 2026
• With Soulframe, Digital Extremes didn't ask for permission but instead begged forgiveness, Game Informer, Apr 9, 2026
• Soulframe's name and its Soulslike shadow, 3DJuegos, Apr 2026
• May Soulframe Devstream highlights, Digital Extremes, May 29, 2026
• Soulframe Devstream 15 Overview, Digital Extremes, Jun 2, 2026
• TennoCon 2026: Soulframe, Digital Extremes, Jul 14, 2026
• Soulframe TennoCon 2026 demo, PCGamesN, Jul 11, 2026
• Destiny's biggest rival Warframe has..., The Game Business, Jul 28, 2026
• Soulframe Preludes 16 update available now, Digital Extremes, Sep 18, 2026
• Open Preludes Coming Soon, Digital Extremes, Oct 15, 2026
• Soulframe FAQ, Digital Extremes, read Oct 20, 2026
• Soulframe | Preludes: Gameplay, Soulframe, Aug 27, 2023 (video)
• Soulframe | Soulframe: Preludes Official Trailer - Coming in 2025, Soulframe, Dec 6, 2024 (video)
• Soulframe | Devstream 9, Soulframe, Sep 12, 2025 (video)
• Soulframe | Founders FAQ with Steve and Sarah - Available November 25, Soulframe, Nov 19, 2025 (video)
• Soulframe Devstream #12, Soulframe, Jan 30, 2026 (video)
• Soulframe Devstream #15, Soulframe, May 29, 2026 (video)
• Soulframe | TennoCon 2026 Official Warsongs Trailer, Soulframe, Jul 11, 2026 (video)