Although the freemium business model is pretty much de facto in the gaming industry, for better or worse, it was still a radical and revolutionary concept when Warframe launched back in 2013. It was so uncertain whether the game would be able to survive, let alone make a profit, that porting to the PlayStation 4 was considered by developers Digital Extremes to be a leap of faith. Seven years later, the game is now on the cusp of launching on the next iteration of Sony’s console and its evolution is promised to go beyond just visual improvements.
To be fair, the graphics upgrades enabled by next-gen consoles are, by themselves, already a noteworthy improvement but it’s almost too easy to downplay this as just making things prettier. While things do look more alive in the PlayStation 5 version of Warframe, it also means that players will be able to see more things, notice more visual cues, and get better immersed in the virtual world they’re stepping into. Digital Extremes says that this is just the tip of the iceberg as they look into building new content that actually takes advantage of these new technologies like dynamic lighting to change the way you play the game.
And then there are the overall improvements in PS5 hardware, which means things like faster loading times. That translates to less waiting time and, in the end, fewer breaks in the suspension of disbelief while you switch from one area to the next.
Many games, both old and new, boasting of their improvements for next-gen consoles often focus just on the consoles and its power. For Warframe on the PS5, however, the new DualSense controllers also promise to give a more realistic experience, with Adaptive Triggers making you feel every shot you fire. The developers also claim that the new haptic feedback will allow them to soon make you feel in your hand the snow that gets crunched under your feet as you move, alien as that idea may sound.
One curious and probably a bit confusing claim, however, is Warframe’s cross-play support on the PS5. What Digital Extremes is basically saying is that you will be able to play even with PS4 gamers but that cross-play pretty much ends at Sony’s borders. No word yet on when exactly Warframe will arrive on the PS5 but it is promised to happen at least before the year is over.