Warframe’s new guitar wielding Protoframe is inspired by rock legend David Bowie

I recently attended a sneak preview of Warframe Techrot Encore, the forthcoming update poised to land on March 19, 2025. While the incoming arsenal of Scoundra weapons, Exalted reworks, and quality of life updates are welcome, it’s the presence of Warframe’s Temple that has me immensely ready to sink hours into this update.

Adorned with splashes of red, white, and black across their visage, this brand-new character is pure rock and roll. To find out how Temple and Protoframe Flare Valeron came to fruition, I asked design director Pablo Alonso to break down the creative process.

Alongside my chat with Alonso about the excellent Waframe Mobile port, I was curious to know how the design process has changed over the years leading up to Temple’s arrival. Alonso designed his first Warframe in 2016 through a deeply collaborative process that encouraged him to experiment. “I remember I walked up to Scott [McGregor], who was the design director at the time. I was like, ‘Hey, I would like to make a Warframe.’ He was like, ‘Well, just make it. Why are you talking to me about it?’” Alonso says, fondly remembering the informal nature of the request.

The creative process revels in trial and error, but Alonso tells me, “I’ve learned throughout the years that now I know certain pitfalls that I won’t jump into anymore.” Temple is the result of such experimentation. Armed with an Infested guitar called Lizzie, Temple’s abilities are all about cranking things to 11. One such ability, Exalted Solo, unleashes fiery waves on enemies, using the power of sound to blast enemies into oblivion.

According to community director Megan Everett, Temple’s Protoframe, Flare Varleon, has a very special inspiration in the ARPG. “If you are a lover of rock and roll, and the eighties vibe, you might see some David Bowie […] there’s a lot of references here to that era,” Everett expresses during my preview.

Before embarking on the quest to create Flare and Temple, Alonso reveals to me that the process typically begins when a “concept artist makes just cool art for a Warframe. That kind of inspires the whole thing, and then we build a design around that.”

What makes any new Warframe special, though, is their place within the game’s highly expansive lore: “We have a particular idea that we want to achieve with the story […] in some ways, the mechanics are first […] what are the mechanics that we want to implement for this? Then what is the story that this frame fits with the Protoframe.”

You can experience Temple and Flare Valeron’s prowess in the beloved action game soon, but don’t forget to get stuck into the ongoing 12th-anniversary quests that began on March 7, 2025.

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