In true Wildgate fashion, the earliest days of development were scrappy and full of exploration. Building something in space was incredible, but it can feel vast and limitless at times—and easy to lose your bearings. So, we chased emotion first, asking the question:

What did we want people to feel when they saw our game?We wanted our game to feel feel warm and lived-in, but not necessarily in a cozy way. Our goal was to build the kind of world that feels ready to welcome you in...then promptly tosses you onto a ship full of weirdos and tells you to figure it out.

The visual style of Wildgate began to emerge bit by bit. Eventually, we moved away from raw emotion and our team—this resilient, chaotic, Reach-brained crew—pulled all its various pieces together and wove them into the whole you see today. 

In this edition of CHARTING THE REACH, we return to the early days of our art direction: the rules we made, the ideas we tossed, and the moment the world we were talking about started talking back.

Before there were turrets, tools, or salamanders in mech suits, there was Laurel Austin. 

As the associate art director, her earliest concepts—like a chunky, orb-shaped probe with too many curious little arms—established the tone of our game immediately: it was salvaged parts, repurposed tech, and brightly lit screens in equal measure.

We weren't going for sleek, sterile sci-fi. We wanted something that felt homey, but not cozy. More like...someone's been here. Someone's tinkered with this. You get the sense that stories happened here, even if you don't know what they were. - Laurel

These sketches didn't just inspire the visual style; they became the foundational guardrails and guidelines that helped warp the world of Wildgate into something tangible, into a space where you felt like you could truly belong. 

But building our game world wasn't just about figuring out the vibes, it was also about understanding how everything functioned. Enter concept artist Sean McNally, who brought in design-based thinking and a love for tech with "just enough logic to be believable." We were now beginning to establish the visual mechanics of Wildgate, and Sean's arrival marked a new chapter in development: one where our art now had to do things. 

With Wildgate's plucky, yet dubiously ruthless visual tone taking shape, we turned to how things work—specifically our ships. Silhouettes, turrets, upgrades, and hardware all had to serve gameplay first, while still fitting into our broader patchwork aesthetic.

As a result, our focus wasn't on realism, it was on believability.

"You can't just make a ship that looks cool. It has to look like it could actually do the thing it's supposed to do... and look cool." - Sean

That philosophy carried over into Wildgate's weapons. Rather than standard rifles or pistols, we leaned into repurposed hardware: gear modified or hacked in order to get the job done.

That's how weapons like the Surefire and the Aim-E came to life—by starting with a function and layering personality on top. One was inspired by welding tools (Aim-E); another visibly overheats mid-fire (Surefire). Every detail needed to suggest use.

As a team, we strongly believe that everything in the game should read well from the first-person perspective and serve a gameplay purpose—from the biggest ships to the smallest asteroids. So, if something moved, it needed a reason to move, and our art needed to communicate that reason clearly and consistently. 

Outside of ships, Wildgate doesn’t always have a “right way up.”

When we committed to full traversal, we meant it— fly, spin, dive, or boost yourself staight into the void, if you want. Our environment design had to shift with that traversal, making every angle the right one…or wrong one… or both. Who’s to say?

"Wildgate has a really expressive visual language. But we also wanted it to feel tight, purposeful. A place where you trust what you're seeing. In a world where everything is flying, boosting, or trying to kill you, readability matters a lot." - Laurel

To help you find your way in the Reach, we leaned on shape, light, and motion. While big landmarks were given strong outlines and layers to make them stand out, a variety of smaller elements—like fog and drifting debris—were also added to make the world feel more alive and easier to navigate.

A lot of work went into these more miniscule materials that players might not ever consciously notice. Whether its rocks or clouds or cosmic storms, we knew they not only had to look good from all directions, but they also had to say—"Hey, there’s something over here!"

Visual friction also became a tool for us, as well. For example: space dust can help you feel your velocity! Thanks precious little particle, you can tell how fast you’re moving through space (like when your crewmate sets off the clamp jet they’ve just attached to you). 

Once the world started taking shape, it was time to fill it—with life!

When it came to Wildgate's characters (our "prospectors"), we wanted a lot of visual variety. Fom tall, burly aliens to sleek, agile humanoids, creating an ecosystem whose inhabitants felt robust was critical, and physical diversity was a big focus. We took inspiration from nature, science, literature, even our favorite Saturday morning cartoons, and more to achieve this.  

“We leaned into a strong variety of elements. You’ll notice familiar echoes in some of the designs, like little nods to the kinds of characters I grew up with within the sci-fi and fantasy worlds of the ’80s and ’90s. There’s a lot of nostalgic charm baked into their designs.” - Laurel

Since we first started experimenting with our prospectors, our art and design teams have remained in a constant, yet elegant tango—especially in the concepting phases where nothing was set in stone. Abilities, weapons, movement? Initially, everything was fluid and always changing. 

What didn't change, though, was our team's shared approach and end goal. In Wildgate, we like to say that "personality doesn’t equal preset," so the big balancing act was making sure each prospector could stand out visually without locking players into rigid in-game roles. While we wanted our designs to spark community curiosity, we didn't want them to dictate how they had to be played. 

All of these things started to come together to form the feel and tone of the game: dangerous and high-stakes, but not oppressive or bleak. Full of contrast sharp enough to cut through the Reach.

“It’s a ruthless game, if you think about it. Characters can be downright evil to each other, but we leaned into visual warmth, humor, and weirdness, not as a mask for the game’s brutality, but as a way to make it more human. If we went full hardcore sci-fi, it just wouldn’t work. It would be too mean. We wanted something closer to the meanness we reserve for our closest friends.” - Sean

“It would be the meanest thing ever. I’ve made some really violent art in my career, but there’s something so fun about living in a world where even when things go terribly wrong, it’s a cute, sneaky little bug-bird-pterosaur-deer guy pulling the trigger.” - Laurel

That balance of violence and whimsy, tension and charm, became one of our team’s signatures. It reflects the game and who we are as a team. We may be some of the kindest people you’ll meet, and yet… we’re absolute villains in-game. That contrast is essential to what we’re building, and informs our decisions from the very first pixel to final render. 

For years, Wildgate lived exclusively inside the minds of our Moonshot teammates; it was a strange, beautiful little game built on shared trust and endless imagination. From an artist's perspective, it feels rare to be able to craft something original, from scratch, with this kind of freedom—and that gift isn't something we take for granted.  

We've poured our heart, souls, and passions in into this project...and now, it belongs to you!

And if you’ve made it this far—through axolotls and mech suits, tools and turrets, rocks and cosmic storms—then you’re one of us now! So, choose your ship, prepare your loadouts, and always remember that the only plan that matters is the one you make up on the fly. We hope to see you gate-side. 

Wildgate launches July 22: https://wildgate.gg/wishlist

Join our Discord:  https://discord.gg/playwildgate

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@playwildgate



Normal mode:
* When respawning - you will now have 70% (Peckish) hunger. This allows you to immediately eat after a death to improve your stats

What's Next:
* Experimenting with alternative control options to improve accessibility. This new control scheme could allow playing with only the left stick, or at least much less right stick.
* Continue making adjustments/improvements based on player feedback

• The Meat Smoker event’s difficulty has been slightly increased
  
• Players will now keep any materials they’ve gathered (e.g. Obtainium, Gastronaut Gizmos, Blobfish) if they fail to extract from the planet
  
• Greatly reduce overall cost and employee rank requirements for all Weapons and Weapon upgrades
  
• Increase base Health gain on Respawn +25% -> +50%
  
• Increase Health gain on Respawn from Healthy Respawn to 100%
  
• Players will respawn with full health in the tutorial

• Tickler Tent – Reduced spawn count of enemies and their difficulty

• Reduce Health of Spider 30% (500 -> 350)
  
• Reduce Health of Gobble Gazer 40% (500 -> 300)
  
• Reduce Power of Wheelies' Debuff (Knee Problems) Movement Slow 50% -> 10%
  
• Franken Beans will take a break from spawning new Bean Minions if 2-3 waves of previous minions are still active
  
• Franken Beans will no longer play his shaking animation while one of his tentacles is in its vulnerable charging state. This should make it less annoying to land those monolith head throws
  
• Franken Beans projectile damage radius reduced slightly

• Decrease Pistol Damage 55/60 -> 50/55
  
• Increase Rifle Damage 18/22 -> 22/24

• Katana’s hitbox is now correctly aligned with other melee weapons
  
• The third wave of each Harvester Escape event is now more difficult. It was unintentionally set to the difficulty of the first wave
  
• Fixed bug that dash would only break alien lasso for the host
  
• SMG Rank 2 now correctly awards +8% damage and not +80% damage
  
• Fixed a bug that would allow players to play multiplayer during the tutorial map. This was not intended to be a supported scenario
  
• Fixed weapon descriptions displaying damage types as ( )
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause Franken Beans projectiles to do too much extra damage when scoring a direct hit

• Observer camera is still in a very rough prototype form
  
• No optimization effort has been made towards more constrained platforms like SteamDeck
  
• Native builds on Linux are still not battle tested. You'll probably need to run under Proton for best results

I read your feedback and fixed slow movement speed. Also, some performance issues were fixed.

This quick hotfix for Starground fixes an issue that would prevent modified tiles from syncing on multiplayer.

• Fixed an issue where modified tiles on multiplayer would not get synced

The few hours are already ticking by, the clock is ticking and ticking! 2 days left, everything is so beautiful July 22.

ːsteamhappyː Everything is so joyful! Wow!

ːsteamthumbsupːːsteamthumbsupːːsteamthumbsupː

s

The game is unfinished, there is still a lot of work for Dubai programmers.

As you can see, there is still a lot to work on. But the game will be released!

Update: QoL Features & Critical Fixes

• Players can now delete their save files directly from the game.

• Hotkey slots can now be navigated using mouse scroll.

• Several critical bugs have been fixed for a more stable experience.

Thanks for playing and sharing your feedback!

That's a wrap on TennoCon 2025! We can't thank you enough for joining us for the 10th annual TennoCon. Whether you watched from home or were with us in person, this day was all about you: our community.

In case you missed it, or want to relive the biggest moments from our 10th TennoCon, you can watch the TennoConcert and full TennoLive VODs now on YouTube!




Unearth a forgotten chapter of Warframe in 2025. The Tau system awaits you in 2026.



The Old Peace thrusts you into a period of unification between the Sentients and Orokin as you navigate a bloodsoaked conflict against the Dax Anarchs with your Sentient ally, Adis. Told in increments as you delve into memories long thought lost, only you can relive the truth of The Old Peace.

Watch now.



Immerse yourself in the somber, heartfelt tone of The Old Peace with "Lullaby of the Manifold" and enjoy a brief moment of peace as you prepare to dive into the fires of war. The full "Lullaby of the Manifold" song is now available for listening on our official YouTube channel!



This historical exhibit commemorates the halcyon days of Tau, the unsteady peace of the past, as well as Orokin arrogance. Get a look at all the details for yourself!



A new Warframe and two new Protoframes (Harrow and Wisp) will also arrive with The Old Peace in 2025.

Come face to face with a devilish new Warframe, Uriel, and continue onto the trail of Albrecht Entrati in a new side story: The Devil's Triad. Can the Orokin ever be forgiven? Someone searches for an answer.



A long-awaited Operator Remaster is coming with The Old Peace, bringing updated visual fidelity across all Operators. Get your first look at an updated Operator in the full Gameplay Demo!

Rediscover what Focus meant during the peak of Orokin power as you master Tauron Focus. You have only witnessed a drop of what these new abilities entail, Tenno. The crucible of The Old Peace may require you to release the flood.




The Old Peace propels Warframe's next cinematic story arc into motion, setting the stage for your monumental voyage to the Tau system in 2026, a first for Warframe.


Before The Old Peace arrives later this year, you can first look forward to another update this fall! This update will feature a new Warframe, a rework for Oberon, a new tutorial Quest geared towards teaching new players the fundamentals of the Mod system to increase the power of your Warframes and Weapons, and new customizations like a Lavos Deluxe Skin.

Learn more during our next Devstream on September 25!



A hybrid of Warframe and Sentient, bestowed with Orokin gold. Caliban Prime will enter Prime Access alongside his signature Weapons and exclusive new Customizations soon!

Learn more.



In collaboration with Paizo, we're bringing Warframe to the tabletop! Warframe x Starfinder: Operation Orias will release this October. If you're headed to GenCon this year, you can experience a small snippet of this adventure for yourself at the Paizo booth!

Learn more.



Get your mobile devices ready, Tenno! The Origin System arrives in your pocket when the Warframe Android Closed Beta begins this fall!

Make sure you're ready for mobile Missions by opting in to our Closed Beta and check out our FAQ for more information.





"We bear seeds for you that show the future…"

Through a copse of trees and Mendicant reanimated corpses, see what's to come in the future of Soulframe Preludes!



Delve deep into the nature of the Neath'uns and get a glimpse into the tale of the Arbearer Bromius.

Watch now.



The Soulframe team took to the stage to share an update on Soulframe: Preludes!

Learn more.


For a limited time, any players interested in joining Soulframe in its pre-alpha, Preludes state can get instant access!

Join Preludes now.




The Warframe team is going on tour! With stops in London (England), Cologne, Tokyo, and Calgary, you can come hang out with fellow Tenno and Warframe developers around the globe.

You can sign up for TennoVIP UK and TennoVIP EU on their respective Eventbrite pages now, with tickets going live on Friday, July 25, 2025 at 2 p.m. ET.



Your favorite summer event returns this August.

Dog Days is back on August 6, packed with the same summer fun you love, along with new rewards. Earn festive community Glyphs crafted by ChickenDrawsDogs and a pool noodle-inspired Hammer Weapon Skin!

Plus, we've updated the signature Soaktron & Lob Blobs and lowered the Nakak Pearl cost for more rewards and maximum fun!

Get ready to make a splash on August 6 with Dog Days!




Create something spectacular as you transform a legacy of torment. The Valkyr Heirloom Collection will be available starting Monday, July 21!

You'll have the choice to purchase the Valkyr Heirloom Collection either with Platinum or in your local currency (which will include bonus Platinum).

Learn more.



Honor the Origin System’s enduring legacy with loads of all-new Merch! Pick up absolutely scorching goodies like The Art of Warframe: Concept-Illustration-Design - Paperback Edition, Volante Stalker Jacket, Spirit Jersey, Aoi & Arthur Floofs and oh-so much more. It's all available now on the official Warframe Merch Store!

Shop now.



TennoCon may be over, but there's still plenty of time to win incredible prizes from our giveaway partners! From tech upgrades to clog customizations, we've got the rewards Tenno are looking for.

Learn more and enter our TennoCon giveaways today!


Your support for TennoCon means we can continue to uplift our charity recipients. This year we are proud to share that Digital Extremes has made a $100,000 donation to both Make-A-Wish Canada and the Canadian Mental Health Association. We encourage you to read more about their missions and how these donations will be used on their websites.

Thank you, Tenno. We all lift together.



Make-A-Wish Canada works with communities across the country to provide children with critical illnesses the opportunity to realize their most heartfelt wish. These wishes are more than just moments of happiness; they are crucial in improving medical outcomes and enhancing the quality of life for both the children and their families.

Donate now.



Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services is an integrated mental health and addiction agency providing community-based supports and services across Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, and South Huron Counties.

Donate now.



You may have seen some incredible creations and cosplay wandering the show floor, Tenno. Most of these were thanks to our exceptionally talented partners.

Special thanks to Plexi Cosplay, Hoku Props, and Hench & Scrap for their help bringing the Origin System to life. Make sure to check them out and follow their socials to stay up-to-date on each group's next incredible creation!


Thanks again for joining us for TennoCon 2025! Whether you were with us in person or tuned in from home, we couldn't have done it without your support. After 12 years of Warframe and our 10th TennoCon, our mission is still the same: to celebrate you, our community.
Stay tuned for more information on The Old Peace and much more when we return for our next Devstream in September!

We're excited to announce that Thai is now fully supported in the game!

Thank you for playing and supporting our game across the world!

Sincerely,

The Bone Collectors.

Hey Closed Beta Testers! We've released 2.9.2-RC06 which fixes a few things from last night's test session.

Changes marked with "\[DEV]" are changes that affect only this beta version since the last one, and do not impact the overall released final build of 2.9.2.

Also, if you want to return to the previous build (2.9.2-RC05) for any reason, you can switch to the "beta_previous" branch on Steam.

• The killfeed (also known as death notices) has been moved to the chat area.

  • The maximum amount of messages that can appear in the chat area has also been increased.

• \[DEV] Fixed an issue where pressing the Connect button on the Server Browser would cause the game to crash.

• \[DEV] Fixed an issue where double-clicking a server on the Server Browser wouldn't open the Game Info panel.

• Fixed a bug where you could reload the M249 if it had full ammo.

• The kill-sound and chat-sound are now on by default.

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• \[DEV] Added Shotgun & Bow to the Command Menu.

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• \[DEV] All gamemodes now use the new M249 damage value.