Digital Extremes

1:40 Soulframe is made by Digital Extremes, the studio in London, Ontario, Canada, that makes Warframe; it is both the game's developer and its publisher. Digital Extremes was founded in 1993, has been owned by Tencent through Leyou since Dec 2020, and runs Soulframe with Creative Director Geoff Crookes and CEO Steve Sinclair. In the opening minutes of Devstream 9 (Sep 12, 2025) the core team introduces itself on the couch: the audio director (George Spanos), the creative director (Crookes), Sarah Asselin, "your community manager", Steve Sinclair and Scott McGregor. Soulframe is a free-to-play fantasy action RPG in development in public through Preludes, its pre-alpha; what the game is about is on Soulframe, and how it got here is on Development History.

Quick facts

The studio

2:04 Digital Extremes is a Canadian studio founded in 1993 by James Schmalz, and Warframe, its free-to-play online action game, is what pays for Soulframe's slow, public development. In Devstream 12 (Jan 30, 2026) the team thanks the players who bought Soulframe Founders packs at the end of 2025, "a really big year for our game", adding that "obviously Warframe did as well". The studio called Soulframe its "second project" beside Warframe when it was revealed in 2022, and Game Informer called it "the studio's first new game in nearly a decade" in Apr 2026. In 2025 Sheldon Carter (then chief operating officer) told PCGamesN that Warframe's success lets the studio "be cautious" with Soulframe; in 2026, as president, he told The Game Business: "We're building the core of the audience before we go wider." How the two games differ is on Soulframe vs Warframe.

Is Soulframe owned by Tencent?

Yes, indirectly. The Chinese company Leyou bought a majority of Digital Extremes in 2014, and Tencent acquired Leyou in Dec 2020, which made Tencent the studio's parent; Digital Extremes said at the time that it "will remain creatively independent". Tencent's name appears nowhere on Soulframe's Steam page, where Digital Extremes is listed as both developer and publisher. In Game Informer's Apr 2026 cover story, Steve Sinclair said the team committed to Soulframe before asking its owners, describing his pitch deck with "Yeah, this was the beg forgiveness."

The Soulframe team

0:42 Soulframe's public faces are the same handful of people at nearly every stream. In Devstream 15 (May 29, 2026) they introduce themselves in turn ("I'm George", "I'm Jeff", Megan Everett as "the substitute teacher" for an absent Sarah Asselin, "I'm Steve", "I'm Scott"). Their roles, as Digital Extremes and the press give them:

Rebecca Ford, often seen at Digital Extremes events, is Warframe's Creative Director, not Soulframe's. The voice cast Digital Extremes has named is Jennifer English (Empress Alora of Eldveil), Ben Starr (Tempest Bayor), Kim Bonifay (Verminia) and Dan Pye (Avakot); see Characters. The team's songs are on Music.

Steve Sinclair and Geoff Crookes

0:49 Steve Sinclair, Digital Extremes' CEO, is the person who answers Soulframe's biggest business questions himself. In the "Founders FAQ with Steve and Sarah" video (Nov 19, 2025) he explains that Founders will reopen "for a little window" when Soulframe comes to a console, because "we're kind of at a PC phase right now". Sinclair directed Warframe for years, wrote in his 2022 open letter "I want to spend as much time with Soulframe as I have with Warframe", and became CEO on Oct 25, 2023, succeeding founder James Schmalz. The same 2022 letter put Geoff Crookes "at the helm as Creative Director on Soulframe"; Crookes still holds that title in Digital Extremes' Jul 2026 releases. Crookes named The NeverEnding Story and Princess Mononoke as influences at the reveal, and Sinclair called the game "a response to the cynicism of the world we are finding ourselves within today" (Game Informer, Apr 13, 2026). The console plans are on Platforms and the packs on Founders Packs.

TennoCon

0:29 TennoCon, Digital Extremes' yearly fan convention in London, Ontario, is where Soulframe's biggest news lands. In the Devstream 16 video from TennoCon 2026 (Jul 11, 2026) the camera sweeps from a stage screen showing the Soulframe logo above a packed arena to the team on couches on a red-carpeted stage, then to the cheering crowd. Every TennoCon since 2022 has carried a Soulframe milestone:

The streams are listed on Devstreams, the Warsongs demo on Warsongs, and the trailers on Trailers.

How Digital Extremes builds Soulframe in public

17:26 Digital Extremes develops Soulframe in the open: it shows changes to players before they ship and changes course on their feedback. Introducing the Virtues rework in Devstream 12 (Jan 30, 2026), the team says "the reason we didn't launch this today was so we could have this stream and take your feedback." The studio set this expectation early: after TennoCon 2024 it wrote that "we didn't add Bullet Jumping to Warframe until 3 years into Development! Expect the same risks, changes, and pace with Soulframe." Sinclair told Game Informer in Apr 2026 that the team is kept small and ships in repeated cycles to keep "the amount of public scrutiny as high as possible." The result is a game whose systems keep changing (Virtues reached their fourth system in a year in Jun 2026) and whose access is widening in steps, from weekly invites to Open Preludes, announced on Oct 15, 2026 with no start date. Digital Extremes has not announced a release date, as of Oct 21, 2026 (Release Date).

Frequently asked questions

Who makes Soulframe? Soulframe is developed and published by Digital Extremes, the studio in London, Ontario, Canada, that makes Warframe. Geoff Crookes is its Creative Director.

Is Soulframe made by the Warframe developers? Yes. Soulframe is Digital Extremes' second game beside Warframe, and several of Warframe's leads, including Steve Sinclair and Geoff Crookes, moved to it.

Is Soulframe owned by Tencent? Indirectly: Tencent has owned Digital Extremes through Leyou since Dec 2020, and Digital Extremes said it would remain creatively independent. Digital Extremes is Soulframe's developer and publisher.

Who is the director of Soulframe? Geoff Crookes has been Soulframe's Creative Director since 2022. Steve Sinclair, Digital Extremes' CEO since Oct 2023, also works on the game and appears in its streams.

Where is Digital Extremes based? Digital Extremes is in London, Ontario, Canada, where it also holds TennoCon, the convention where most Soulframe news is shown.

Is Soulframe a Warframe sequel? No. Soulframe is a separate fantasy game in its own world, Alca, made by the same studio; see Soulframe vs Warframe.

Sources

• Digital Extremes partners with Tencent, Digital Extremes, Dec 22, 2020
• TennoCon 2022: open letters from Digital Extremes' Rebecca Ford and Steve Sinclair, Digital Extremes, Jul 16, 2022
• TennoCon 2022: Digital Extremes unveils new game Soulframe, Digital Extremes, Jul 16, 2022
• Digital Extremes CEO James Schmalz resigns, Shacknews, Oct 25, 2023
• TennoCon attendees get the first look at new Soulframe gameplay, Digital Extremes press release, Jul 20, 2024
• TennoCon 2024, Digital Extremes, Jul 24, 2024
• Soulframe Devstream 8, Digital Extremes, Jul 18, 2025
• Soulframe launch window interview, PCGamesN, Jul 20, 2025
• Finding the soul: Soulframe interview, TheGamer, Jul 24, 2025
• Soulframe Devstream 13 overview, Digital Extremes, Mar 30, 2026
• Soulframe en voyage, Game Informer, Apr 7, 2026
• With Soulframe, Digital Extremes didn't ask for permission but instead begged forgiveness, Game Informer, Apr 9, 2026
• Soulframe is a response to the cynicism of the world, Game Informer, Apr 13, 2026
• The secret to Digital Extremes' live service success, Game Informer, Apr 17, 2026
• Countdown to TennoCon 2026, Digital Extremes, Jun 25, 2026
• TennoCon 2026: Soulframe, Digital Extremes, Jul 14, 2026
• Destiny's biggest rival Warframe has..., The Game Business, Jul 28, 2026
• Open Preludes Coming Soon, Digital Extremes, Oct 15, 2026
• Soulframe on Steam, Steam, read Oct 20, 2026
• 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 | Devstream 16 - Live from #TennoCon 2026!, Soulframe, Jul 11, 2026 (video)