TennoCon 2026: Warframe unveils Tau galaxy expansion, Soulframe gets mounts and quests

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TennoCon 2026 has finally wrapped, and developer Digital Extremes has revealed new content for both Warframe and Soulframe – it's two massive online action RPGs. Throughout the TennoCon live show, we got to see the developers showcase long-anticipated updates that will not only take players to new locations but also introduce new antagonists for the larger stories ahead in both live-service games.

In addition to the long-form reveal of Warframe's Tau expansion, which introduces a new galaxy to explore that's filled with new threats, we saw Soulframe showcase a new fable questline focusing on the reveal of a new weapon and darkside powers to adopt, along with the anticipated arrival of new player mounts and a new fishing mini-game.

Continue below for everything revealed at TennoCon 2026!

Warframe - Tau revealed, Iceblade of Narin, and a new type of Warframe to control

The long-anticipated Tau expansion for Warframe was finally revealed at TennoCon 2026, and according to the developers, it's the biggest shift forward for the long-running action-RPG that the devs have ever made. Continuing the conflict among the Tenno, Albrecht Entradi, and the enigmatic Man in the Wall, players will finally venture to the long-teased Tau system, which houses the mysterious Sentinels and the Orokin-terraformed colonies. The signature location of Tau is the gloomy, alien, cyberpunk-style city known as the Forax, a new Hub zone that blends open exploration with procedurally generated zones. While not an open-world zone in the vein of the Planes of Eidolon or Fortuna, it does feel like a mix between large-scape areas of Warframe and the bite-sized action zones throughout the game.

"Tau is certainly the biggest shift for Warframe ever, we're adding a full second solar system to explore and have new stories coming," said Warframe creative director Rebecca Ford in an early interview with IGN. "When it came to building up Tau, what we basically asked ourselves was, 'How do we keep Warframe going forever?" And the answer to that was to add a second solar system to the game. 13 years later, you can build up all over again, give the players more, and start planet by planet, moon by moon. and object by object. And there's so much more to come."

Another of the signature reveals in the live demo for Warframe was a new type of Warframe known as Brysko (voiced by Matt Mercer of Critical Role fame), a special Chimera Warframe that is a sentient being created within the Tau system. Along with a playable Lotus section, we also got to see Brysko in action, who plays as a gunslinger Warframe in combat sequences that play out similarly to a fast-paced character action game. Warframe has focused heavily on character-first storytelling in recent years, and one of the key focuses of the Tau update is Brysko's story and how the Chimera Warframe will play into the game's future.

Along with a new reveal for Tau, Warframe will also launch several updates in the lead-up to Tau's launch later this year, including a customizable Orokin Vessel that players will acquire. Firstly, the next major update to Warframe is the Iceblade of Narin, a story quest featuring a new location and a new playable Warframe to acquire. Moreover, new deluxe versions of Qorvex and Banshee, a gameplay rework, and new Nightwave missions with the Amir's Shockwave update are also on the way.

Also revealed at TennoCon was Warframe ‘s first-ever card mini-game, Portau, which is based on the mechanics of poker. The Sentient card game iterates on the rules of poker with its own suite of Blooms, Cores, Moons, and Suns.

Soulframe - New fables, a new dark pact, and mounts are on the way

Digital Extremes' Soulframe and its growing high-fantasy universe are still in its alpha stage, and the developers have been gradually defining a more engaging and soulful companion to Warframe. At TennoCon, we got to see the latest updates coming to Soulframe, which focuses on the Envoys encountering their darkest challenges yet with the arrival of a new threat, and a new opportunity to engage with the growing corruption to adopt the first dark powers known as vespers.

Firstly, one of the early reveals is that more players will be able to get access to Soulframe Preludes – the current early access for the action-RPG. Players who sign up for access to Soulframe Preludes on the official site before July 12 11:59 ET will earn access to the game. While invites have steadily gone out, this marks the most significant opportunity to get access to Soulframe.

One of the significant reveals was the new narrative and fable mission called Warsongs – which is set for release this Fall. The questline we saw added more details to the player character's origin story and how their mother came into conflict with Tempest Bayor, who is given more background and drive behind his motivations, setting the events of the game into motion. Furthermore, actors Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI, Expedition 33) and Jennifer English (Baldur's Gate 3, Expedition 33) have joined the Soulframe cast as recurring antagonist Tempest Bayor – the red-armed anti-Envory – and supporting player ally Empress of Eldveil, respectively, to further expand on Soulframe's growing narrative.

"We probably announced the game much sooner than we should have, but really, what has come out of it is that we're building this game alongside the community," said senior community manager for Soulframe in a chat with IGN. "When we finally got players in to test the game and play early, it was a great opportunity to really see them take in the world and get into the knitty-gritty of the world we're building. In the last year, especially, we have taken a lot of big swings with the game, and we're just constantly building up towards our next steps. Some really big **** is coming soon."

One of the most exciting moments of the TennoCon demo was the battle between Tempest Bayor and the Envoy's mother, who are both briefly playable during the Warsongs demo. The demo culminates in an encounter where the Envoy gets a brief experience with the Vadagar pact – which introduces the ability to embrace the powers of the dark side.

In the new questline, we get to see the player Envoy come into contact with a corruption that grants them a new Vadagar pact and weapon, which showcase Soulframe's first attempts at offering a dark side of sorts to follow. According to the devs, this questline is Soulframe's darkest storyline so far, and it will offer players – if they are so inclined – the chance to build up their corruption powers. The new weapon shown off during the demo focused on the snake sword known as the Coiled Dawn, which uses large sweeping strikes to cut down multiple enemies.

In addition to the expanded fable, Soulframe will also get a round of new quality-of-life updates to the game this year. In the lead-up to the major new updates coming this year, Soulframe players will also be able to take part in a new combat encounter against the Mendicant Reinbreaker, a shadowy dark knight that can potentially be a new ally upon defeat. One of the most requested features from the community was player mounts, and we got to see players riding atop large wolves during the TennoCon demo. Another new feature coming to Soulframe is fishing – referred to as 'Vegan Fishing' – which lets players relax and capture fish across the Alca to gain intel about the wildlife.

"The community support we have is so critical, and it's also – in my view – a gift," said Asselin."There are so many games and so many things players can do with their time in this attention economy. So why would someone play Soulframe after work versus another game or the latest thing on Netflix? So it's up to us to honor that gift and do it right. That's why we have dev-streams and even have Envoy hours where the team jumps into the game to see how the game feels with the community. We're still very early in development compared to Warframe, so I think it's allowed us to have some time with everyone and to help build this game up."

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.