14 DAY TRIAL // Developer Digital Extremes has revealed a new title called Warframe that should be launched during the winter of 2012 and will use the free-to-play and microtransaction business model.
The game is described as a shooter that focuses on cooperative experiences and that allows the player to move around fast, in and out of battles.
The setting of Warframe is a dark age when the more advanced Frineer are driving another race called Tenno to extinction.
Finally, the oppressed discover Warframes, a kind of advanced yet ancient exoskeleton that allows them to fight back.
The game will be designed for squads of four players and it will feature a complex web of upgrades for the exoskeletons, customizable weapon loadouts and levels that are procedurally generated.
Steve Sinclair, who is the creative director working on the game, stated, “Warframe is a new name for an old game. It was a shelved concept we kept coming back to. High-tech machine-gun Ninjas set in a far-future, over-hyphenated, Manga-Dune mash-up. Free-to-play lets us take risks. It allows us to build Warframe with our players.”
James Schmalz, the chief executive officer of Digital Extremes, added, “In many ways, we’re going back to our PC action-based roots. Free-to-play is like shareware 2.0! Once again, we’re connected directly to our end-user.
“They decide whether or not to pay for their experience and we listen to their feedback and continually improve the experience to make it worth paying for. Game development as it should be.”
A close beta stage for Warframe is set to take place this fall and gamers can already register for it and reserve their player name.
At the moment, Digital Extremes is also working on a new Star Trek video game that will focus on the cooperation between Spock and Kirk as they fight the Gorn.
Take a look at how Warframe looks in alpha state:
