Warframe’s Evolution Continues: 90s Cyberpunk in Upcoming Update, Demo Soon

Controller Master


Digital Extremes’s free-to-play third-person looter-shooter, Warframe, has changed radically over the years, serving as something of a golden example of how to do live-service games. The developer also shows no sign of slowing that progress, with the game’s upcoming Warframe 1999 and Koumei & the Five Fates updates looking to introduce a slew of new content and gameplay updates. While both updates were previously announced, Digital Extremes revealed additional details about the rollout of the updates and their content at the Tokyo Game Show.

For starters, Digital Extremes announced that Warframe 1999—the 90s- and cyberpunk-themed story update—will be getting a playable demo on October 16, with an in-game cosmetic reward for players that try out the demo, to boot. The Koumei & the Five Fates update is slated to land on October 2 and deliver a new playable Warframe, Koumei, and a new Shrine Defense game mode with enemies inspired by Japanese folklore. There are also quality-of-life changes, new weapons, and weapon and Warframe mods coming in the same update, and an old Warframe will get a drastic rework and be available as a free login reward between October 3 and 16.

The Warframe 1999 demo will allow players to explore the streets of Höllvania—which appears to be another open world map—on an Atomicycle, take down new enemies patrolling the streets, and complete a “special Exterminate mission.” Upon completing the demo, players will receive a Protokol Longsword skin, and they’re free to jump back into the demo again if they so choose. Warframe 1999 will launch in its entirety sometime in Winter 2024 on all platforms.


Where the October 16 update adds the Warframe 1999 demo, making it somewhat limited in scope, the Koumei & the Five Fates update is far wider-reaching, also introducing several gameplay changes, quality-of-life changes, and even an entire Warframe rework.

Koumei is the new luck-based Warframe that will be the star of the show in the Koumei & the Five Fates update. Digital Extremes describes her abilities as follows:

  • KUMIHIMO: Weave the threads of destiny. Enemies who touch the threads suffer a random Elemental Status Effect. A roll of triple sixes creates threads that inflict one of every Elemental Status Effect.
  • OMIKUJI: Koumei glimpses a favorable future and the precise steps needed to reach it. Complete the challenge to earn a Decree. A roll of triple sixes grants a Decree without a challenge.
  • OMAMORI: Surround yourself with Omamori Charms, each with a chance to have enemy attacks heal you instead of damage you. The number of charms is determined by Koumei’s dice roll. A roll of triple sixes grants invulnerability for the duration of your Omamori Charms.
  • BUNRAKU: Wield your foe’s fate threads like the strings of marionettes. Koumei’s dice determine how many Status Effects foes in front of Koumei will suffer. A roll of triple sixes maximizes Status Effect stacks and extends Bunraku to enemies behind Koumei.

Koumei will be unlocked via a new quest—Koumei & the Five Fates—which will likely introduce a new game mode that sees players assist the Ostron to fend off infested enemies emerging from the ocean on Cetus. The Shrine Defense game mode and Koumei in general seems highly inspired by Japanese myth and folklore—even the enemies referenced in the announcement of the new game mode are described as “Infested Oni,” which is likely a reference to demons in Japanese folklore.

Caliban, a Warframe introduced in 2021, is getting a rework that appears to make him a powerful tool for crowd control and status effects. To celebrate this, Caliban will be available as a free login reward between October 3 and October 16. Digital Extremes has put out a rather handy YouTube video explaining his new abilities succinctly:


In addition to the new Warframe, new game mode, and the Caliban rework, Koumei & the Five Fates will also introduce the companion rework and new weapon mods, Arcanes, and Augments for existing Warframes. The Companion Rework 2.0, as it is called, makes some significant changes to how players utilize their Beast companions (Kavat, Kubrow, Predasite, and Vulpaphyla), specifically making builds more diverse, and focusing on the high-speed gameplay Warframe is known for. Beasts in Warframe will get a selection of new mods, and the number of mods players can equip to their Beast companions will effectively double, thanks to the introduction of Beast weapons, which have their own mod slots for attack and status mods. Sentinels and their weapons will also get a rework, from simple stat refreshes for some to complete reworks for others, although the exact specifics of the Sentinel changes have yet to be revealed.

The success of these changes will likely be determined by how they affect the game balance and how the community receives the changes, but the Digital Extremes team seems adamant to iterate on what has so far been a winning formula. Many of the changes being implemented seem to directly address power scaling issues that have arisen as a result of the drastic changes Warframe has undergone in the last few years.