According to Forbes, Digital Extremes has launched the Founders program for Soulframe, letting players buy immediate access to the ongoing pre-alpha testing. The program offers four tiers tied to different archetypes—fighter, mage, archer, and a premium Wyld Paragon bundle. Founders get exclusive weapons, armor sets, cosmetics, premium currency called Arcs, and even a crossover longsword skin for Warframe. The update also introduces Preludes 12 with new combat options like Greatsword grips, Agari sub-bosses, and improved onboarding. Creative director Geoff Crookes emphasized that early supporters were crucial to Warframe’s 12-year success and hopes to replicate that community-driven foundation. Players can check out the Founders program details and wishlist on Steam.
The Founders program playbook
Digital Extremes is pulling a classic move here—monetizing early access through a Founders program. It worked wonders for Warframe, and they’re clearly hoping to repeat that success. But here’s the thing: this isn’t 2013 anymore. The gaming landscape is absolutely saturated with early access titles and paid beta programs. Players have become more skeptical about buying into promises rather than finished products.
And let’s talk about those Founder tiers. The Wyld Paragon bundle that includes all three archetypes feels like the real money maker. It’s smart business—appeal to completionists and collectors who want everything upfront. But I can’t help wondering how much FOMO they’re banking on with those “exclusive” items that early supporters will supposedly never get again.
The risks of community-driven development
Digital Extremes is famous for their iterative, community-focused development approach. It kept Warframe alive for over a decade. But is that model becoming a crutch? There’s a fine line between listening to player feedback and letting your community design the game for you.
Look at the Preludes 12 updates—reworked onboarding, clearer Fable tracking, easier traversal. These are all responses to player complaints. That’s good! But it also suggests the initial design wasn’t quite working. When you’re building a game publicly like this, you risk creating something that’s constantly reacting rather than having a strong, coherent vision from the start.
Early monetization concerns
Launching the Founders program during pre-alpha raises some eyebrows. We’re talking about selling premium currency (Arcs) for a game that’s still in heavy development. What happens if the economy changes dramatically between now and launch? Will early purchasers feel cheated if their Arcs buy less later?
The physical merchandise inclusion is interesting too—shirts, pins, art cards. It feels like they’re trying to build that collector mentality early. But basically, they’re asking players to invest real money in a product that’s still taking shape. That’s a big ask in today’s market where gamers have been burned by unfinished titles too many times.
Living in Warframe’s shadow
Let’s be real—Soulframe will always be compared to Warframe. The spiritual successor framing creates massive expectations. Warframe players will expect similar depth, similar developer responsiveness, similar long-term support. But Soulframe is going in a completely different direction with fantasy themes and slower, more deliberate combat.
Can Digital Extremes maintain two live service games simultaneously? Warframe still gets regular updates and has a dedicated team. Splitting resources between two major titles could strain both projects. The crossover Warframe skin suggests they’re hoping to pull existing players over, but will that be enough to build a separate, sustainable community?
Ultimately, the Founders program launch tells us Soulframe is entering a crucial phase. They’re confident enough to start taking money, but the real test will be whether they can deliver on those “themes of redemption and hope” Crookes mentioned. The gaming industry has seen plenty of promising projects stumble during this transition from early testing to full release. Only time will tell if Soulframe avoids those pitfalls.
