Digital Extremes announced Open Preludes on October 30 — Soulframe’s free-to-play fantasy action RPG — will drop its invitation requirement on Friday, November 6, opening the game to any Windows PC player who wants to download and try it without hunting for a key. The announcement came during Soulframe Devstream 18, which aired at 3:30 PM ET and followed directly after Warframe Devstream 198, and was accompanied by a full press release from the studio. Alongside the open-access date, Digital Extremes revealed the details of Preludes 17: Verse of the Veilands — the first major content update to arrive after the gate opens — bringing the most-requested feature in the game’s history: rideable wolf mounts.

What Is Soulframe and Why Does This Moment Matter?

Soulframe is an open-world cooperative fantasy RPG in which players take on the role of an Envoy — a former operative of the Ode, a technologically advanced colonizing force that has invaded and corrupted the island of Midrath. Having defected, the Envoy works to heal the land, forge bonds with the native creatures of Alca, and drive back the Ode corruption one region at a time. The central question the game keeps placing in front of the player is whether that corruption can be reversed before it becomes permanent — and the emotional register is less blood-and-glory and more quiet melancholy of restoration, with slow, deliberate melee combat designed to feel weighty rather than frantic. One detail captures the game’s texture: the wolf companions that players bond with grow from pups into fully rideable mounts as regions are cleansed — a mechanic that took from announcement in 2022 to Preludes 17 to arrive, and which has been the most-requested feature from the community throughout.

Since its first Preludes pre-alpha build in 2023, access to Soulframe has been invite-only — keys distributed in waves by email and via Twitch drops during devstreams. The Founders program, launched November 25, 2025, offered a paid early-access bundle with cosmetic exclusives for players who wanted guaranteed access and a way to support development. Opening Preludes to everyone without any of those requirements is the single largest inflection point in the game’s development since those first Preludes builds began.

Creative director Geoff Crookes acknowledged the significance directly. “It feels a little scary to finally open the gates like this,” he said in the announcement, “but the introduction of mounts and world progression systems we revealed today is the right time so we can gather essential feedback on these features and everything we’ve worked on so far.”

How to Download Soulframe — and What the Official Launcher Means

Soulframe Open Preludes will be available on Windows PC to download from soulframe.com. It will not be available through Steam. Digital Extremes has a Steam page for Soulframe, but the studio has confirmed that page exists for wishlisting and development news only, ahead of a future broader PC release that has no announced date. There is no console version currently planned for this phase.

The decision to route Open Preludes through the studio’s own proprietary launcher — running on the same Evolution Engine that powers Warframe — rather than through Steam is an architectural one, not merely a business preference. Distributing through a first-party launcher lets Digital Extremes push updates without being subject to Steam’s platform review process for patches, which matters significantly for a pre-alpha game receiving frequent content drops. It is also the same model Warframe uses: DE’s own launcher has been Warframe’s primary distribution method since 2013, a decision the studio credits with allowing the kind of rapid content iteration that made Warframe’s live-service model viable over twelve years.

The game is free. New content and features will continue to be added at no cost as development progresses. Founders packs — which previously served as the primary paid path into Preludes — remain on sale and continue to provide their exclusive Pacts, weapons, and armor, but buying one is no longer necessary to play. Founders retain everything that came with their bundles.

Preludes 17: Verse of the Veilands — Wolf Mounts, World Corruption, and a Headless Mini-Boss

Preludes 17: Verse of the Veilands will arrive after Open Preludes launches in November, with no specific date yet confirmed. It is the most content-dense update in Soulframe’s pre-alpha run to date.

Omen Wolf Mounts. The headlining feature is rideable Omen Wolf mounts — the single most-requested addition since Soulframe was first shown publicly. Earning one requires completing a wolf pup’s training, purifying two Veilands regions, then brewing a crafted Bairnday Biscuit (with the help of an NPC named Vermina) and feeding it to the pup so it matures into a fully rideable Omen Wolf. The studio has confirmed the wolf will continue developing in future updates.

The Veilands World Progression System. Veilands is an entirely new environmental framework that unlocks after completing the Fable quest “The Tormented Stag.” It visualizes the Ode corruption across every region of Midrath simultaneously — dead trees, ashen ground, smoggy skies — and the player’s task is reclaiming regions one at a time by working with local faction representatives, completing objectives called Votives, building energy toward each region’s sacred song, and cleansing its siphon. Votives can be accepted directly from the world map after meeting the region’s representative, and those NPCs are receiving substantially more writing and voice acting in this update. A restored region brings back its wildlife, its fishing access, and its seasonal events while offering different loot than corrupted zones.

The Ode Shrike Pact. Preludes 17 introduces a new character Pact — Soulframe’s equivalent of a class or combat style — called the Ode Shrike, themed around trapping and deception. Its kit includes deployable spike traps that erupt from the ground, balloon darts that lift enemies into the air, bola chains that link and propagate damage between multiple targets, and an evasive throwing bomb for mobile skirmishing. The developers noted the Pact is effective in stealth and said one ability was inspired by Ode balloons players already find throughout the world.

Bita’s Eve and Veltruska. Soulframe’s Halloween-adjacent seasonal event, Bita’s Eve, returns as part of Preludes 17. Players can expect Wintersquash patches to search, a new headless horseback mini-boss called Veltruska with limited-time rewards, including a sack mask with feathers, a dreamcatcher talisman, and a sickle weapon. Fishing expands with the update as well, with cleared regions restoring fishing access and the Bita’s Eve period introducing a special catch called the Sunken Terror.

Matchmaking Is Still an Open Question

One significant gap Digital Extremes acknowledged openly is the absence of robust matchmaking for dungeons and Votives. Senior designer Scott McGregor and Crookes both addressed it during the stream. Crookes confirmed the co-op design intention: “It is a co-op game. It’s designed to be that way.” The studio did not commit to matchmaking landing specifically in Preludes 17, positioning it as a near-future priority rather than a launch feature. Players entering Open Preludes at launch will need to form their own groups for instanced content.

Who Makes Soulframe — and Who Owns Digital Extremes

Digital Extremes is a Canadian studio founded in 1993 and headquartered in London, Ontario. It is best known for co-creating the Unreal series with Epic Games and for developing Warframe, the free-to-play sci-fi action game the studio has supported for over twelve years and which claims 85 million registered players by its own count.

The studio is not independent. In December 2020, Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent acquired Leyou, the holding company that holds a 97% majority stake in Digital Extremes, for approximately $1.3 billion. Digital Extremes has stated publicly that this arrangement has not changed how it operates and that it retains creative independence. China’s National Intelligence Law of 2017 requires organizations under Chinese jurisdiction to cooperate with national intelligence work on request — an obligation that applies to Tencent regardless of the legal independence of its subsidiaries. Players creating Soulframe accounts and connecting their data to the platform should be aware of this ownership context. Digital Extremes’ privacy policy names the studio itself (London, Ontario address) as data controller and states the company holds data for the duration of an account’s active life.

On the question of AI, Digital Extremes has taken a clear public position: community director Megan Everett stated in April 2026 that “nothing in our games will be AI-generated. Ever.”

October 30 Was a Double Devstream Day

The Soulframe announcement came at the end of a significant day for Digital Extremes. Warframe Devstream 198 addressed the Riven backlash from 2 PM ET, with Warframe creative director Rebecca Ford, CEO Steve Sinclair, and design director Pablo opening the stream by addressing a community backlash over Riven mod and Kuva system changes that had been building for ten days. Ford did not reverse the changes, instead asking burned-out players to consider stepping back from the game if they needed to. Soulframe Devstream 18 followed at 3:30 PM ET.

Opening a second game to the entire public on the same day as a difficult community reckoning with the studio’s primary title is a notably confident move. For Soulframe specifically, it signals that Digital Extremes believes the game is in a state worthy of a much larger audience — not polished enough for a 1.0 launch, but coherent and content-rich enough to earn broader feedback at this stage of development.

Sign-ups for Soulframe Open Preludes are open now at soulframe.com. The gate comes down on November 6.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Soulframe free to play, and is it on Steam?

Soulframe is free to play. Open Preludes will be downloadable from soulframe.com for Windows PC — not through Steam. Digital Extremes has a Steam page for Soulframe, but that page is for wishlisting and development updates ahead of a future broader release. The decision to use a first-party launcher rather than Steam allows the studio to push updates more rapidly than Steam’s patch review process permits, following the same distribution model Digital Extremes has used for Warframe since 2013.

How do I get an Omen Wolf mount in Soulframe?

Rideable Omen Wolf mounts arrive with Preludes 17: Verse of the Veilands in November. To earn one, players will need to complete a wolf pup’s training, purify two Veilands regions, then craft a Bairnday Biscuit (with help from an NPC named Vermina) and feed it to the pup so it grows into a rideable Omen Wolf. Mounts are earned through gameplay — they are not purchased. The studio has confirmed the wolf will continue developing in future updates.

What is Soulframe’s relationship to Tencent and China?

Digital Extremes is 97% owned by Leyou, a holding company acquired by Chinese conglomerate Tencent in December 2020 for approximately $1.3 billion. Tencent is China’s largest technology and gaming company. China’s National Intelligence Law of 2017 requires organizations under Chinese jurisdiction to cooperate with national intelligence requests — an obligation that applies to Tencent. Digital Extremes operates under Canadian law, names itself as data controller in its privacy policy, and has stated it maintains creative independence. Players who are concerned about upstream data-sharing exposure should be aware of this ownership structure before creating an account.

When does Soulframe leave pre-alpha and fully launch?

No full release date has been announced. Digital Extremes has confirmed that Soulframe will eventually come to Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 following the PC period, but no timeline is public. Open Preludes is a pre-alpha phase — the game remains unfinished and will continue receiving updates based on community feedback. The Founders program, which offered paid early access with cosmetic exclusives, remains available for players who want to support development ahead of a full launch.