After a year of waiting, a Warframe 1999 demo is finally playable right now

Ready your AX-52 and set On-Lyne’s Party of Your Lifetime to play on repeat because it’s time to jump into the demo for Warframe‘s ’90s-inspired winter expansion. Ahead of Warframe: 1999’s release later this year, developer Digital Extremes has released the first-ever demo for the much-hyped expansion, allowing every player, no matter where they are in the broader story, to try it out.

Initially revealed in August 2023, Warframe: 1999 is the next major expansion for Digital Extremes’ MMO. As the name suggests, it takes us back to the ’90s but with a stylish and unique Warframe twist. As with all the best MMOs, the expansion stays true to the game’s universe and the vision for its story, packing in new content for both its version of the modern day and a separate segment taking place on New Year’s Eve in ’99.

The playable demo for Warframe: 1999 offers a small slice of the overarching narrative. You can explore downtown Höllvania, a twisting city filled with Techrot, buildings covered in plastic wrapping to contain the relentless epidemic, and a new enemy faction, the Scaldra. Arthur, the expansion’s main protagonist, is helped along by his flash Atomicycle.

This is just a small slice of what’s to come in Warframe: 1999. Digital Extremes describes it as a replayable Exterminate-style mission in which the Scaldra will show off their disgusting toxic weaponry. It’s well worth playing the demo to receive the Protokol Longsword Skin, a great-looking weapon to use alongside your AX-52.

Any player who has completed the Awakening and Vor’s Prize quests can access the Warframe: 1999 demo directly from their ship. A new PC should have appeared to the left of the main navigation terminal, one that looks like it was pulled directly from the ’90s. Once you log into it, you’ll go straight to the demo.

Warframe: 1999 is comfortably among the game’s most anticipated expansions to date. The blend of stylish new content with a hearty serving of ’90s nostalgia is certainly something I’m looking forward to. The update doesn’t have a release date at the time of writing. But this demo, combined with the recent Koumei and the Five Fates update, should be enough to tide everyone over for now.

If you’re jumping into the game today, claim every Warframe code you can for some freebies. You can learn more about the upcoming expansion by checking out our Warframe: 1999 release date guide.

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