Play through a 1999 prologue in August with a new Prime
Battle through a Techrot-infested city on the verge of Y2K disaster
A massive new way to be fashionable and fabulous
This year marked the ninth TennoCon and it is safe to say that time has done nothing to slow this show down. It has been an incredible weekend, punctuated by some mindblowing reveals. Warframe: 1999 is barrelling towards us and promises to be one of the series most amazing updates.
Before we get to the main event, there will be a prologue quest released in August 2024 to get us ready. The Lotus Eaters reunites us with one of Warframe’s most iconic characters and follows Whispers in the Walls, introducing the world of 1999. This update will also introduce Sevatgoth Prime and their exclusive weapons. It is required to complete all the story up to and including Lotus Eaters to play 1999, so get your head down before the release date of Winter 2024.
As you might expect, 1999 is set during the titular year, on an alternate earth where Y2K is a lethal virus that could destroy everything. It is set in the city of Höllvania, a 90s paradise corrupted by Techrot, which you can zip around on with the new Atomicyles, which are capable of bullet jumps, drifts, and being used as improvised explosives. And atop these superb mounts ride our six heroes, members of the Hex.
Each team member wears a Protoframe, a Warframe that showcases the human inside. Arthur is the leader and wields Excalibur, supported by allies such as Aoi who uses Mag, and Quincy who wears the newly introduced CYTE-09. This frame will also make its way to the Origin system, sporting a stylish beret.
The team is brought to life by such renowned actors as Alpha Takahashi, Ben Starr, Melissa Medina, and recent Baldur's Gate 3-propelled star Amelia Tyler. And if you want to get to know them better, you can do so in a truly 1999 way; instant messaging. Play your cards right, and you might have someone to kiss in the new year.
Just to really emphasize the 1999 vibe, you will find yourself face-to-face with one of the most infamous things from that era; a 90s boy band. On-lyne is a five-piece band led by Zeke - voiced by Leon Kennedy himself, Nick Apostolides - who have been robbed by the Technocyte Coda and become your infected enemy. Their songs are incredibly catchy though, and you can now listen to their hit single, Party of Your Lifetime, on all major streaming platforms.
One of the best parts of this update, at least for me, is the enhancements to the fashion systems, the true endgame. You will be able to enter battle with two fashion frame loadouts which you can switch between, but even better is the introduction of the Gemini Skins. With it, you can take the Protoframes like Arthur and Aoi into the Origin system.
Obviously, this is limited to the frames that have these skins like Excalibur, but each of them has pages of fully-voiced lines for when you are fighting, and they will chat if you decide to bring your operator out. It’s a really cool way to make the most out of the stellar voice actor lineup, and it’s nice to have characters with faces.
Outside of the headline, we also got a few extra details. Digital Extremes will be collaborating with animation studio THE LINE to produce an anime short related to 1999 to launch this year. Finally, starting today you can obtain some stunning high-fidelity heirloom skins for Ember, followed by a Rhino skin in early 2025.
With Warframe: 1999 arriving in Winter 2024, there is much to catch up on and more being added in the meantime, so be sure to download Warframe now from the App Store.
