TennoCon 2026 has officially concluded.
I was honored to attend the offline event at the invitation of Digital Extremes and Tencent, joining over 4,000 Tenno from around the world. The enthusiastic atmosphere, the passion of the players and fans, and the official merchandise store that filled an entire corner of the venue nearly drained my physical energy, mental stamina... and my wallet.
Splurging on official merchandise to offer tribute to the Lotus, bro.
Of course, the biggest highlight of this TennoCon 2026 trip was naturally having the honor of chatting thoroughly with Sheldon, the President of Digital Extremes.
Sheldon's career spans from Producer of Dark Sector to Creative Director of Dark Sector II, and now to fully overseeing the R&D and global operations of both Warframe and Soulframe projects. He is undoubtedly a senior veteran at Digital Extremes.
He witnessed Digital Extremes evolve from a small outsourcing factory to taking the first step in trying independent works, and then achieving a beautiful turnaround with Warframe. He personally experienced the studio's most dangerous times in 2012 and now stands at the peak alongside the entire studio.
Through all the ups and downs over the years, he can now speak confidently about it—"Warframe has survived for 13 years not by piling on new content, but through the connection and trust between Digital Extremes and its players."
Saying that officials and players are closely connected is easy, but doing it is hard.
The operational logic of many long-service games is to stack versions upon versions and events upon events, then use predatory monetization tactics to extend their lifecycle. However, the logic of Sheldon and Digital Extremes studio is completely opposite—they are creating a community, one that brings people closer together. In the interview, he told me that TennoCon 2026 maintained a scale of just over 4,000 people, not because they were unwilling to expand, but to ensure that every player could walk into this small town where Digital Extremes and Warframe grow together, allowing players to have face-to-face conversations with developers. They artificially controlled the scale of the event.
That sounds a bit humblebraggy. However, after personally experiencing TennoCon offline, I seem to understand their approach a bit better—aside from anything else, holding dedicated 'meet-and-greets' for developers and players at large offline events, giving them time and space for offline conversations, is something only Digital Extremes does.
Sheldon also repeatedly demonstrated his emphasis on domestic players and the domestic market during the interview—this point will be elaborated on in the interviews with Megan and Zi next door. In short, Sheldon was very surprised by the speed of growth of the Warframe domestic community and expressed that more activities would be launched in China as soon as possible.
He told me in the interview that the deep binding between Digital Extremes and Tencent Level Infinite—this model of overseas independent studios combined with domestic publishing synergy—holds significant advantages in his view. And indeed, this is the case. Just this year, Warframe has already held one Shanghai player meetup and two campus tour events in China.
In the near future—specifically on September 12th this year—Tenno VIP will land in Xi'an, China for the first time, with more campus tour events currently in preparation.
Of course, we also discussed the future development direction of the game and the Tau System, the annual major update that all players are looking forward to and paying attention to—I won't elaborate further here to avoid spoiling it for everyone.
Below is the main body of this interview.
Q: How does TennoCon 2026 differ from previous years in terms of content exposure and player experience? What is the most important message you wish to convey to global players at this exhibition?
Sheldon:Good question. Let's start with the upgrades in experience—the biggest change for this exhibition is switching to a complete two-day schedule. The huge merchandise展区 you just mentioned constituted the entire venue for TennoCon before this year.
In previous years, we only held events in a small area of a large arena. This year, both the merchandise zone and the arena venues are being used simultaneously. Following that, a full day of Tenno Live, Cosplay competitions, and other major activities will be held in the arena.
Large public areas will be reserved on-site to allow players to stop, interact, and communicate face-to-face with the development team, which is particularly great.
As for the core concept you asked about—I believe the core of TennoCon is building connections between us at Digital Extremes and our fans. Therefore, we deliberately control the scale of the convention. This year's event had only 4,000 participants. While that sounds like a lot, compared to large comic cons or gaming expos, the scale is actually quite small.
Moreover, holding the exhibition in our studio's hometown is particularly meaningful.
London, Canada is just a small town, not a bustling metropolis. But this opportunity allows players to personally experience the place where we live, the environment where we work, and where Warframe and Soulframe were created—if we can convey these things to players, it holds immense significance for us.
We are happy to host a live press conference with global simultaneous broadcasting, allowing hundreds of thousands of online players to watch the livestream concurrently. However, the experience of players attending offline to personally feel the atmosphere and celebrate with us is irreplaceable.
Q: I actually have a small 'request'—have you considered holding more offline events in China?
Sheldon:We will soon hold an exclusive offline event for Tenno VIPs in Xi'an, scheduled for September 12th this year.
Earlier this year, Rebecca (the Lotus) also specially traveled to China to participate in player events. We were very surprised by the enthusiasm of Chinese players for Warframe. Moreover, our cooperation with Tencent allows us to hold domestic offline events more regularly.
Therefore, we will visit China more frequently in the future to meet with everyone.
Q: The long-awaited Tau System update has been in preparation for years. What are the team's plans for Tau in 2026? How will new gameplay mechanics and scenes subvert the existing gaming experience of the Origin System in the future?
Sheldon:What you asked about is precisely the core content of our new version. In fact, since the early days of the game's launch, we have been laying the groundwork for the Tau System's background setting. The game's plot has always hidden foreshadowing—what exactly happened in the Tau System? Why have the Tenno been unable to reach there for so long? How can we return to this star sector?
In the opening cinematic of last night's DEMO, the Tenno pilot their ship into a new star system. The first thing players experience is the contiguous hub city you saw in the trial, but this is just one planet. Two planets will be available at the initial launch of the Tau System, one of which was not revealed in the trial version.
Once the official update goes live, players will be able to unlock this previously unshown planet. It will continue to expand with updates, similar to the Origin System—a prospect the development team is very excited about. We have hundreds of ideas for expanding the world. The Origin System was limited by the background stories of the Corpus and Grineer factions, restricting expansion space. The Tau System has no such limitations, offering maximum creative freedom. Content that couldn't be realized under the original settings can now be implemented in the Tau System. Of course, the design of the Origin System itself remains excellent. Players can return to the Origin System at any time, and all equipment and items are universally compatible.
There is also a brand-new corruption-related storyline; we have prepared a thought-provoking narrative. A new Warframe will also debut in the new version—Brysko. The design philosophy behind this Warframe is completely different from previous ones; it possesses independent self-awareness and is a unique Warframe.
To be precise, we can expand the content of the Tau System from countless dimensions. What you saw last night cannot fully showcase all our creativity, but players can catch a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg for the new version.
The soundtrack also continues the narrative style everyone loves, but with a fresh musical adjustment. The Tau System version will surely surprise everyone.
Q: That new Warframe has an elegant demeanor. In the DEMO, it even removes its top hat, showing great attention to detail, like a gentleman.
Sheldon:Brysko's character profile leans towards a detective. In the DEMO, it searches for clues everywhere and delivers lengthy inner monologues when it sees something interesting. I really like the team's design this time; it reinterprets the definition of a Warframe and opens up a new creative angle.
Q: Your design must have referenced classic old movies—like Blade Runner, right?
Sheldon:That's right. The visual design of the Tau System draws heavily from Blade Runner, so everyone should immediately recognize the similar cyberpunk atmosphere.
Q: Warframe has remained popular for over a decade. How does the team balance the demand for deep content from veteran players with the onboarding experience for newcomers? Will optimization plans be introduced in 2026 regarding new player tutorials, reducing progression grind, and iterating on older content?
Sheldon:This is a weighty question. Thank you for raising it, and I will try to answer it as comprehensively as possible. One of the core reasons for our long-term operation is offline events like TennoCon that bring the studio and players closer together.
Building a communication bridge between the studio and the community is the underlying logic of all our updates and operations. With every version update, we strive to bring surprises and joy to players. We break out of established frameworks to create new content that players don't expect.
This is one of our secrets to success, and the second is listening to player voices.
After each update goes live, we collect player feedback. We don't blindly implement every player request, but we definitely listen carefully, personally experience the game to understand pain points, and then solve problems with unexpected optimization solutions. This approach not only keeps the game fresh but also maintains the development team's creative passion, which is the core secret to our long-term operation.
As for balancing new and veteran players, the veterans who have been with us for thirteen or fourteen years are the foundation of the game's survival. Many Tenno return every year to experience the new versions. Therefore, we continuously produce content to give veterans a reason to return. Our community atmosphere is excellent; veterans actively help newcomers when they join. Combined with the in-game tutorial system, newcomers can get up to speed quickly. New players see the Warframes and equipment owned by veterans and set these as their goals.
For example, as a new player, seeing others use Brysko to charge forward might inspire you to think, 'I want that too,' prompting you to actively learn how to obtain it. Veteran players will share farming and crafting guides to help new players acquire these items faster.
This cycle is very self-consistent. All items require effort from players to obtain—this is important. By relying on this model, we can cater to the experiences of both new and veteran players simultaneously.
Q: I recently got a friend into the game. I used the Handbell to carry him through Annihilation missions to crack open relics, and he was very surprised—'Bro, why is your stuff so cool? You fly so fast and clear mobs so quickly, get me a set too.'
Sheldon:Haha, exactly! This is the game's progression path and the players' goal. When newcomers see high-tier equipment, they have a new direction to strive for. We don't need to make every progression step a rigid system tutorial; the model of players sharing guides and helping each other within the community is particularly good.
Q: Compared to Warframe, what differentiated innovations will Soulframe introduce in terms of worldview, combat system, and long-term operational model?
Sheldon:You can view Soulframe as the reverse mirror image of Warframe. Warframe focuses on bullet jumping and large-area clearing skills, crushing enemies along the way. Just like you mentioned with the Handbell—it can clear large groups of enemies.
Warframe offers that satisfying hack-and-slash experience.
However, every combat encounter in Soulframe is distinct. Its combat emphasizes blocking and dodging, resembling a strategic offensive and defensive duel. The combat pace is steadier and requires precise execution.
Warframe is a sci-fi title, and the Tau System version maximizes that sci-fi feel. In contrast, Soulframe is a fantasy title, centered around nature and wildlife imagery, with the main storyline focused on reclaiming natural sanctuaries from corrupting forces.
Both games have profound themes but completely different styles, and their progression systems differ significantly. Although we are using a long-term operational model for both, the growth and progression logic of the two games is entirely different. For example, in Soulframe, when players defeat enemies, weapons drop, which players can pick up and gradually refine and upgrade—there are many such differentiated designs.
Running both games in parallel allows us to meet the needs of different types of players. Whether you prefer fast-paced hack-and-slash or slow-paced hardcore combat, you can find a suitable title.
Q: Currently, Digital Extremes is deeply invested in both iterating on Warframe and developing Soulframe. How does the team allocate R&D resources? Are you concerned that the new IP might divert operational focus from the classic IP, and how do you plan to achieve complementary success for both IPs in the future?
Sheldon:This question hits the mark. This is also our core goal, so we are not rushing the development of Soulframe, nor will we ever slow down the update pace of Warframe. In fact, during the two years of developing Soulframe, the update frequency for Warframe has actually increased.
This was deliberately planned. We have allocated a sufficient fixed development team for Warframe to ensure stable update production. At the same time, we are gradually expanding the Soulframe development team to match its development needs.
Most importantly, we respect the demands of the player community. We will never break the strong bond we have with our players. Dual-development pressure is high, but we have currently found the perfect balance.
Q: Ahem, here's a small question—when will Mystra be reworked?
Sheldon:Hahaha. You know, many people are asking me this question. We can ask Pablo directly during the developer livestream and hear his response.
Q: The Shanghai event previously mentioned a Chinese-style Chang'e Warframe. Will you continue to delve deeply into Chinese-style and Eastern mythological content in the future? What are your plans for exclusive optimizations and localized benefits for Chinese players over the next two years?
Sheldon:If I reveal specific details about this Warframe, my colleagues will give me trouble, haha. I can't spoil anything, God, it's painful. But I can confirm that there are plans for next year—we will visit China more frequently to deepen communication with the domestic player community. You will see related content rolled out in the coming months.
It will come, it will come. There will be bread, and there will be beer.
Q: Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to Chinese players?
Sheldon:I want to thank everyone for playing Warframe. We deeply love our passionate Chinese player community, which is why we have added Zi to our team specifically to liaise with the domestic community—she is our official Chinese Community Manager. If this helps bring us closer to you, we are sincerely happy.
Finally, thank you again to all players. See you in the Tau System!