Warframe: 1999 Unveiled at TennoCon 2024

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 navigate with the new Atomicyles, which are capable of bullet jumps, drifts, and being used as improvised explosives. And atop these impressive vehicles are 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 appear in the Origin system, sporting a stylish beret.

The team is enhanced by renowned actors like 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.

To truly emphasize the 1999 vibe, you'll encounter one of the era's most infamous elements; 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 this update's highlights, at least for me, is the improved fashion systems, the true endgame. You'll be able to engage in battle with two fashion frame loadouts that you can switch between, but even better is the addition of the Gemini Skins. With them, you can bring Protoframes like Arthur and Aoi into the Origin system.

This is naturally limited to frames with these skins like Excalibur, but each boasts extensive fully-voiced lines for combat, and they'll chat if you bring your operator along. It's a fantastic way to utilize the superb voice acting lineup, and it's great to see 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.