Soulframe vs Warframe

40:20 Soulframe is not a sequel to Warframe and not "Warframe 2": it is a separate game from the same studio, Digital Extremes of London, Ontario, set in the fantasy world of Alca instead of Warframe's science fiction, with slower melee combat, but built on the same model, free to play and developed in the open with its players. "This is a slower game than Warframe," a developer says in Soulframe's Devstream 12 (Jan 30, 2026), though turning to strike takes only "a split second" once the team removed input delays. Digital Extremes calls Soulframe its "second project" beside Warframe (Jul 16, 2022), and Sinclair has called it a "sister project to Warframe" (Level Infinite, Jul 21, 2024). The two games share a studio, technology and the TennoCon convention, and Soulframe Founders get a Warframe weapon skin, but they are separate downloads with separate accounts, and Soulframe is still in its pre-alpha, Preludes, as of Oct 21, 2026. The game itself is introduced on Soulframe.

Quick facts

The same studio

Soulframe exists because of Warframe's success. Sinclair, Warframe's longtime director, moved to Soulframe in 2022 ("I want to spend as much time with Soulframe as I have with Warframe"), and Geoff Crookes, Warframe's former art and animation director, became Soulframe's Creative Director (Digital Extremes, Jul 16, 2022; Game Informer, Apr 13, 2026). Rebecca Ford directs Warframe and is not on Soulframe. Warframe also pays for the patience: Digital Extremes' Sheldon Carter said in 2025 that the studio can "be cautious" with Soulframe because Warframe supports it (PCGamesN, Jul 20, 2025). The studio's story is on Digital Extremes.

14:51 The games share technology. Talking about graphics upgrades in Devstream 15 (May 29, 2026), a developer says Soulframe will probably get the FSR 3.1 and DLSS upgrade "from our Warframe friends", eventually, "because we do share everything between the two games", though "sometimes on their schedules". In Devstream 12 the team said the Warframe team's optimization of the shader system would also reach Soulframe.

A deliberate contrast

The difference was the point from the start. "We knew we wanted to offer a stylistic contrast to Warframe," Crookes said in 2022, and on combat: "Warframe is a very fast-paced, frenetic game, so we have to keep reminding ourselves to rein it in" (PCGamesN, updated Feb 23, 2023). In 2023 Sinclair called Soulframe the "yin" to Warframe's "yang", as CGMagazine reported (Aug 28, 2023). The themes differ too: Soulframe is about nature and healing, and Crookes said in 2024, "the player's role in this game is a healer" (CGMagazine, Jul 24, 2024).

Press saw it the same way. PC Gamer described "a slower, more deliberate pace to its melee-heavy combat compared to Warframe's space ninja acrobatics" (Jul 20, 2024), and Steam Deck HQ wrote that Soulframe "isn't just 'Warframe but fantasy'" (Dec 10, 2025). Lead designer Scott McGregor said Soulframe takes "a simpler approach" than Warframe, with a one-on-one fight that "could end up being a minute or so" (MobileSyrup, Jul 24, 2025). How Soulframe fights is on Combat.

Pacts and Warframes

Soulframe's closest thing to a Warframe is the Pact. A Warframe is a suit with its own abilities; a Pact is a bond with an Omen Beast, worn on the Envoy's arm, that gives three Arcanic abilities, and players swap Pacts between Loadouts. Crookes compared Pacts to Warframe's frames in 2023, CGMagazine reported (Aug 28, 2023). The difference is the Virtues: since Preludes 15 (Jun 10, 2026) each Loadout leans toward Courage, Spirit or Grace, which shapes how a Pact's abilities scale. See Pacts and Virtues.

The same business model, done a little differently

Both games are free to play and sell optional items, and both are built in public. Soulframe's premium currency is Arcs, "Relic coins of the ancient Fey" (Founders, read Oct 21, 2026). Digital Extremes points to Warframe's history to explain Soulframe's changes: "we didn't add Bullet Jumping to Warframe until 3 years into Development! Expect the same risks, changes, and pace with Soulframe" (Jul 24, 2024). Prices and currency are on Free to Play and Arcs.

0:49 Sometimes the developers break from Warframe on purpose. Asked in the Founders FAQ video (Nov 19, 2025) whether console players will get Founders, Sinclair says Soulframe will do it "a little bit different than Warframe": when the game reaches a new console, Founders will open again "for a little window" so those players do not miss out.

3:34 Other ideas come straight from Warframe. In the same video Sinclair compares the Founders-exclusive Paragon Greatsword to Warframe's Excalibur Prime, "but it's not", because a Paragon Founder will be able to make a blueprint so other players can craft their own, "with my name kind of stamped into it". The bundles are on Founders Packs.

24:58 Customization also departs from Warframe. Introducing dyes in Devstream 9 (Sep 12, 2025), a developer says "it's going to be a little different than Warframe": a dye gives a range of saturation and lightness to pick from instead of "just a solid color".

1:06:17 Warframe players will still recognize plenty. Asked in Devstream 12 whether Soulframe will get "a profile system similar to one found in Warframe", the developers answer "Yes. Yeah, absolutely": a spot in the Nightfold showing your accomplishments. Crookes has said Warframe players "will notice some similarities to certain looks or choices" (PCGamesN, updated Feb 9, 2026).

The crossover and shared events

The one item that crosses over goes from Soulframe to Warframe. Every Soulframe Founders bundle includes "an Envoy's Sphere Longsword Skin code for Warframe", and the Paragon bundle includes six such codes (Founders, read Oct 21, 2026). No Warframe item has been announced for Soulframe.

The games also share a stage. Soulframe was revealed at TennoCon 2022, Warframe's convention, and returned there in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026; TennoCon 2026 on Jul 11, 2026 showed the Warsongs Fable (Warsongs). Preludes 16 was first shown inside Warframe's Devstream 197 in Seoul (Digital Extremes, Sep 4, 2026). Soulframe's own streams are on Devstreams.

Same universe?

No Digital Extremes post or stream we found ties Soulframe's world to Warframe's, as of Oct 21, 2026. Soulframe is set on Alca, on the northern isle of Midrath, threatened by an invading force called the Ode (soulframe.com, read Oct 21, 2026); see Story and Midrath.

Frequently asked questions

Is Soulframe Warframe 2? No. Soulframe is a separate fantasy game from Digital Extremes, the studio behind Warframe; Digital Extremes calls it a "sister project", not a sequel.

Is Soulframe like Warframe? In some ways. Soulframe is also free to play and developed in the open, and its Pacts work a little like Warframe's frames, but its combat is slower and melee-heavy and its setting is fantasy instead of science fiction.

Is Soulframe in the same universe as Warframe? Digital Extremes has not said so. Soulframe is set in its own world, Alca, and no official post connects it to Warframe as of Oct 21, 2026.

Do I need Warframe to play Soulframe? No. Soulframe has its own account and launcher at soulframe.com; Warframe is only needed to use the Warframe skin code that comes with Soulframe Founders.

Is there a Soulframe and Warframe crossover? A small one: Soulframe Founders bundles include a code for the Envoy's Sphere Longsword Skin in Warframe, and both games appear at TennoCon.

Who makes Soulframe? Digital Extremes, the Canadian studio in London, Ontario, that makes Warframe, develops and publishes Soulframe.

Sources

• TennoCon 2022: Open Letters from Digital Extremes' Rebecca Ford and Steve Sinclair, Digital Extremes, Jul 16, 2022
• Soulframe interview, PCGamesN, updated Feb 23, 2023
• TennoCon 2023: Soulframe and optimism, CGMagazine, Aug 28, 2023
• Great news: Soulframe will have customizable moms, PC Gamer, Jul 20, 2024
• How Digital Extremes is building Soulframe, Level Infinite, Jul 21, 2024
• Soulframe's atmosphere, CGMagazine, Jul 24, 2024
• TennoCon 2024, Digital Extremes, Jul 24, 2024
• Soulframe launch window, PCGamesN, Jul 20, 2025
• Digital Extremes Soulframe interview, MobileSyrup, Jul 24, 2025
• Soulframe preview and Steam Deck performance, Steam Deck HQ, Dec 10, 2025
• Soulframe release date, PCGamesN, updated Feb 9, 2026
• Soulframe is a response to the cynicism of the world, Game Informer, Apr 13, 2026
• Soulframe Preludes 16 at Warframe's Devstream 197, Digital Extremes, Sep 4, 2026
• Soulframe Founders, Digital Extremes, read Oct 21, 2026
• Soulframe, Digital Extremes, read Oct 21, 2026
• Soulframe | Devstream 9, Soulframe, Sep 12, 2025 (video)
• Founders FAQ with Steve and Sarah, Soulframe, Nov 19, 2025 (video)
• Soulframe Devstream #12, Soulframe, Jan 30, 2026 (video)
• Soulframe Devstream #15, Soulframe, May 29, 2026 (video)