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[ashecitism]

Digital Extremes held the first Waframe convention last week and PCG has been releasing articles about it. This one is the story of the game, how it all started, DE trying to shop it around to pubs, but getting rejected, doing it on their own, having to do layoffs, but slowly finding success with a dedicated community and learning from the rejections and managing to grow as a company and despite the game's success and constant growth, it's still low-key as far as the big public goes. Some excerpts:

http://www.pcgamer.com/the-story-of...no-publisher-wanted-found-26-million-players/

In early 2013, Digital Extremes finally released the free-to-play space-ninja shooter it had wanted to make for over 13 years, but that doesn’t mean it was a happy time for the studio. Every publisher with an opportunity to back Warframe had passed, and most even said outright it would fail. With no investors and a couple of other subpar launches around the same time, employees were laid off and morale was low, but the game was being made.

Almost four years after players first got their hands on it, you won't see a Warframe booth at PAX or E3, or ads on billboards. You won't find reams of op-eds about it on mainstream gaming sites—not like similar games such as Destiny, at least. What you will see is weekly updates and patches, and a regular spot among the top 15 most played games on Steam by concurrent players. With 26 million registered users worldwide, Warframe is one of the most popular free-to-play games available. Digital Extremes did what no one thought it could, and the naysayers are now coming to them for advice.

Not a single publisher said yes. Most of them said outright that the game was doomed to fail. In many cases, the pitch meetings were over before they could even start. Sinclair told me about a meeting they had set up during GDC, saying it once again all came down to Warframe’s theme. “The executives walk in and say ‘I can’t wait to see what you have today, this is great,’” he recalled, “and they turn, see the screen and see sci-fi, and it’s ‘riiiiiip’ goes the record needle and ‘oh it’s too bad it’s sci-fi,’ and the meeting was over.”

But they kept trying, next going to Korea. Sinclair wouldn’t say exactly who, but he took a meeting with “the creator of the largest free to play game in the world, and I’m not talking about League [of Legends].” He showed a now expanded prototype of Warframe, and despite the publisher being impressed with its graphics, the answer was the same: “You will fail.”

“Western game companies can’t make free-to-play because they don’t update them,” they said, according to Sinclair. “Because they spend way too much time making the graphics good, and they spend way too much time making a type of game that can’t grow and evolve.”

Without any outside funding, Digital Extremes had to lay off staff to make the game. “It was all-in on Warframe,” Sinclair said, “and it was dark days.”

“We were laying people off who had worked here a long time who we loved,” said Carter, describing the time as “the worst days of the company.” Digital Extremes found even more trouble after its Star Trek game released in early 2013 and was critically panned. "Star Trek almost ruined us," said VP of publishing Meridith Braun. Digital Extremes later told me it let 48 of their roughly 180 person staff go around the time Warframe entered open beta in March and Star Trek shipped in April.

Now Digital Extremes has grown back up to a 260-person company, even hiring back some of the people let go in 2013. Despite what the publishers said, Warframe is still on the rise. “We hear from those [publishers] now," Sinclair said, "and they’re saying ‘can you help us figure out Western free-to-play?’ Because for some reason we figured it out on accident, and they want to know how.”

But even while asking for advice, Carter said those same publishers treat Warframe like a bubble just waiting to burst. “It was almost like they thought we were at the top of the graph, and now we’re going to bottom," Carter explained, "and we always just keep going further up.” Digital Extremes indicated that Warframe hits roughly 100,000 peak concurrent players across all platforms each day, and that those numbers aren't dwindling. Sinclair described the game’s growth as sort of a staircase pattern, saying “every major update breaks [a record]” compared to their previous highs.

more at the link

 

[Cardon]

Good for them. I was fascinated with that old Dark Sector "next-gen" trailer back in the day so I'm happy to see Warframe be such a huge success for the company.

 

[Kaji AF16]

Probably the best F2P I have ever played. Great mechanics, excellent graphics, varied missions.

 

[sirap]

They deserve it. The effort they put into polishing the mechanics and adding content is phenomenal.

 

[Ronin Ray]

I put so many hours into Warframe on ps4

 

[darkwing]

the best f2p game that is even better than some retail games

 

[theWB27]

Good for them. They got a month worth of playtime out of me on the ps4. Still like to get in for a few matches here and there.

 

[Teknopathetic]

They made a good game with fun mechanics and an extremely fair F2P business model, I'm not surprised by its success.

 

[Bits N Pieces]

I downloaded this months ago for the Xbox but I've yet to even play it, is it worth putting time into?

 

[cyress8]

One of the handful f2p games I actually put down a few dollars. It is really good, especially if you like fast action games like DmC. Completing a mission at break neck speeds or mowing down tons of enemies is fun as hell.

Game is still grindy though. Worth going through the hell when your weapons can slice through a boss in a second.

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

I downloaded this months ago for the Xbox but I've yet to even play it, is it worth putting time into?

I have quite of few peeps that play it on X1, don't play it personally but I watch the vids in the activity feed on the dashboard and it looks fun.

 

[VariantX]

This game is consistently within the top 10 most played games on steam and its been there for quite awhile. It's a weird thing to me that the gaming media rarely talk about it at all except in passing. I guess that's what happens when you don't have a year long marketing and hype cycle leading up to its release.

 

[Gattsu25]

I downloaded this months ago for the Xbox but I've yet to even play it, is it worth putting time into?

Yeah, it's absolutely worth playing IMO.

 

[Arrrammis]

I downloaded this months ago for the Xbox but I've yet to even play it, is it worth putting time into?

It's definitely worth firing up, but just a warning: it is a very grindy game once you get to higher levels. To get new weapons and stuff without real money, you'll have to buy blueprint and then gather all of the materials.

 

[Reckless Onion]

One of the best F2P games i've ever played.

 

[Nokterian]

Fantastic game and also a recent update they revamped the whole galaxy map amazing to see how this game has become after these years and still fun to play!

 

[OVDRobo]

It's a fun but shallow game. Starting it up, you think 'I can't believe this game is free' with the amount of content there - The amount of Warframes, weapons and in-depth systems. But then most of the content is the same environments and the same missions types and once you have everything you want, you realise that there was no point to getting it because there was nothing more fun to do after obtaining it.

Regardless, I'm glad for their success. I've invested plenty of hours across both the PC and PS4 versions over the years and don't regret the time. With a bit more variety it could be absolutely incredible.

 

[Hyun Sai]

I'm really curious to see the name of those publishers...

 

[Kayant]

SOTR update has been great so far minus the early bugs ... Looking forward to the improvements for Void Fissures. Welcome system to help combat lordRNG.

 

[Teknopathetic]

"I'm really curious to see the name of those publishers..."

Given they said it was the Korean creator of the "largest free-to-play game" I'm going to assume NCSoft (Lineage) or Nexon (Maple Story).

 

[Raide]

I tend to dip in and out of this game. I like seeing the updates and changes. Combat is actually pretty solid overall. Time sink on gaining stuff can be a pain, especially for Xbox owners.

 

[Nosgotham]

I was hooked on Ps4 launch. Great game. Well deserved

 

[Gattsu25]

"Given they said "largest free-to-play game" and specified not League of Legends I'm going to assume NCSoft (Lineage) or Nexon (Maple Story)."

It would have to be NCSoft, right? Wasn't Lineage the largest F2P game in the world before Warframe came out?

 

[SirMossyBloke]

It's a fantastic game. Just a shame it never really got the mainstream attention it deserved.

 

[Bits N Pieces]

Thanks for the repllies, folks. I'll fire this up tonight and see how it goes.

 

[mcz117chief]

I remember when I started playing all the way back in closed alpha. You would barely recognize the game now. I have a soft spot for Warframe but it is kind of one dimensional, I could never put too much time into it, all the missions feel the same and I don't have any sense of progression.

 

[Pantaghana]

So strange publishers would instantly lose interest if a game was sci-fi, like that setting instantly meant poor sales. Even more strange hearing that today, considering Destiny is a thing.

Happy for DE, Warframe brought me a lot of joy over the years.

 

[Memory]

Good news, its the best F2P game I've ever played. I'd still play if i didn't fall out the loop due to other games and miss a few updates.

 

[Corleth the Fey]

Those first couple months after the launch of the PS4 would have been dismal without Warframe. Secret best PS4 launch game. It had that PSO vibe, that just kept me coming back.

I did spend a little money, about 15 pounds to help upgrade some stuff. Considering I had over a hundred hours of playing time - super value for money.

 

[Glitchesarecool]

Don't forget, there are Neogaf communities for the PS4 and PC version! PC version is part of a large alliance too. There's usually someone on at all times of the day if you want to play with others, and plenty of veterans who know their stuff.

Game is great, I've never put more time into any other game. The devs do try to listen to the feedback they get on their game, and an extremely fair F2P model, one of the best in the business. It's so strange hearing that it was a difficult sell, although the early days were a little rough compared to what we have now.

 

[HStallion]

I haven't played it in a long damn time. It's been over a year but it looks like such a different game altogether at this point. I'm happy for their success as they earned it.

 

[Raide]

Thanks for the repllies, folks. I'll fire this up tonight and see how it goes.

If you do want to jump in, do the research on the WarFrames available before you go. You get to start with one and then you have to unlock/pay and wait to get, so the one you start with can dictate how easy/hard you make progression for yourself.

 

[mcz117chief]

an extremely fair F2P model, one of the best in the business.

It is borderline broken (actually no, it is broken). I was able to buy the $50 pack for like $5 when I managed to get the 75% discount log-in reward AND there was a 50% discount promotion running at the same time. I felt like a thief

 

[Teknopathetic]

"It would have to be NCSoft, right? Wasn't Lineage the largest F2P game in the world before Warframe came out?"

Yeah, NCSoft is my first thought.


"It's a fun but shallow game. Starting it up, you think 'I can't believe this game is free' with the amount of content there - The amount of Warframes, weapons and in-depth systems. But then most of the content is the same environments and the same missions types and once you have everything you want, you realise that there was no point to getting it because there was nothing more fun to do after obtaining it."

It's a loot game. The goal is getting the stuff you want. Ultimately, it's a game me and my friends play until we've accomplished what we want, then bench it for half a year or more and come back when there's a lot of new stuff to do. Not a game we play non-stop.

 

[Glitchesarecool]

It is borderline broken (actually no, it is broken). I was able to buy the $50 pack for like $5 when I managed to get the 75% discount log-in reward AND there was a 50% discount promotion running at the same time. I felt like a thief

Lucky you, I think I've only seen two 75% discounts in my 2330 hours of playtime.

 

[U2NUMB]

I tend to dip in and out of this game. I like seeing the updates and changes. Combat is actually pretty solid overall. Time sink on gaining stuff can be a pain, especially for Xbox owners.

Wait.... I play on x1 why is it more of a pain for us? I honestly don't know...curious.

 

[Dylan]

I still stand by my opinion that Warframe is more fun than Destiny.

 

[Pantaghana]

Wait.... I play on x1 why is it more of a pain for us? I honestly don't know...curious.

I think Xbox has the smallest playerbase, that lack of players can make things very difficult for new players.

 

[Gattsu25]

I still stand by my opinion that Warframe is more fun than Destiny.

I would tend to agree with that...but I only played Destiny until I saw all of its bespoke content which meant that I stopped playing that game around 2 days after it came out. I didn't jump back in with the DLC missions....err..."expansion packs".

 

[Evolution of Metal]

Lucky you, I think I've only seen two 75% discounts in my 2330 hours of playtime.

50-75% discounts drop if you don't log-in often. I have 400+ hours of playtime, never see 75% one when I played. However, I log in once in a while to see updates/alerts/events and every second time it is either 50% or 75% discount.

 

[Fugu]

I got pretty into this a couple of years ago. It's a really great game and I honestly can't complain too much about it since I got a solid ~100 hours or so out of it, but it's paradoxically lacking in longevity for a game driven by loot.

I stopped playing around the time that Trinity got nerfed, and at that time the high-end gameplay revolved entirely around two+ hour games of defense where you would be continuously invincible because of blessing and damage would come almost entirely in the form of spammable ults that deal percentage-based damage. It didn't take particularly long to get to this point, too, and as a Trinity player myself I achieved the best possible gear after a few months of moderate group playing.

It's a shame too, because I recall thinking, even post-nerf, that playing as Trinity and killing dudes with a bow was so fundamentally entertaining that I wished there was more depth to the endgame. Unfortunately, all of my friends and I burned out on it at about the same time. I might pop on again sometime in the future.

 

[Raide]

Wait.... I play on x1 why is it more of a pain for us? I honestly don't know...curious.

I think Xbox has the smallest playerbase, that lack of players can make things very difficult for new players.

The above. Getting into some planets and grouping can be hard. Especially for planets where things drop that you need to make certain Frames.

If you can get a good group that sticks together, you can progress well. Solo stuff can be super hard.

 

[mcz117chief]

Lucky you, I think I've only seen two 75% discounts in my 2330 hours of playtime.

I log-in about 4 times a year and I get them every time

 

[Z3M0G]

Amazing game, amazing support, and good F2P model. Even I dropped some cash on it. Every time i return to it is had received impressive improvements. I hope to keep doing so for years to come.

Its silly that i could never get any of my friends to get into it.

 

[U2NUMB]

The above. Getting into some planets and grouping can be hard. Especially for planets where things drop that you need to make certain Frames.

If you can get a good group that sticks together, you can progress well. Solo stuff can be super hard.

OK got it... Yea I often am just playing on my own. I downloaded the game on steam but never dove in. Perhaps I should and experience more players.

 

[Raide]

OK got it... Yea I often am just playing on my own. I downloaded the game on steam but never dove in. Perhaps I should and experience more players.

Funnily enough I just reinstalled after this thread on Xbox one. 😄

Solo is great and much better now but co-op just massively helps with progress and getting stuff, especially missions that need survival.

 

[Bits N Pieces]

If you do want to jump in, do the research on the WarFrames available before you go. You get to start with one and then you have to unlock/pay and wait to get, so the one you start with can dictate how easy/hard you make progression for yourself.

Thanks for the heads up, duly noted.

 

[BHK3]

I downloaded this months ago for the Xbox but I've yet to even play it, is it worth putting time into?

Not really, you'll hit a ceiling sooner rather than later and that's when you find out that's the point where you pay to make the progress meters go away.

 

[VariantX]

Amazing game, amazing support, and good F2P model. Even I dropped some cash on it. Every time i return to it is had received impressive improvements. I hope to keep doing so for years to come.

Its silly that i could never get any of my friends to get into it.

Its not silly at all. One of the biggest failings of Warframe in the past is that it was piss poor in teaching the player about all its underlying systems at even a basic level. You had to go to the wiki because the game did poorly at telling you basic things like how mods work, leveling up said mods, how polarities work in the weapon/warframe/etc customization system, how the 4 basic elements work along with how the secondary combined elements are created by putting mods in certain slots, how status and crit percentages work, etc. The only reason why I got to 1000+ hrs is because I liked the core gameplay loop, and just being plain stubborn.

 

[Azar]

This game is consistently within the top 10 most played games on steam and its been there for quite awhile. It's a weird thing to me that the gaming media rarely talk about it at all except in passing. I guess that's what happens when you don't have a year long marketing and hype cycle leading up to its release.

Exactly why we've recently made an effort to cover it with stories like this