We Talked With Danielle Sokolowski And Zach McKone About Warframe And The Joy Of A Community That Never Stops

As Warframe has grown over the years and the studio goes on to create new experiences like Soulframe, there’s a group of people that form the Community Team, the first point of contact for players. This team plays a huge part in the way the studio communicates with its play🎉erbase, and after more than a decade of activity, the Warframe players still praise how honest they are with the fans.

This year marked the tenth Tennocon event, the time of the year when all the Warframe fans worldwide converge both 🍸physicallyꦚ and virtually to celebrate the game they love. Therefore, we sat down to chat with Senior Community Managers Danielle Sokolowski and Zach McKone to discuss their work with the community and how it all comes together for this event.

An Ever-Evolving Team Effort

Excalibur Prime standing on a battlefield in Warframe.

“I think we've evolved in ways of shari🎶ng information as early as we possibly can,” answers McKone. ”I think in the earlier days, we liked keeping a lot of things secret, and then you would hear about it on a dev stream or maybe right as it comes o🥂ut.

These days, with our Devshorts ev✱ery week and housekeeping news during the Prime Time show, players know ahead of time what's coming out in an update as fast as we feel comfortable sharing i🌺t. That update might not have been named yet, but you’ll know that it will eventually come soon.”

The Devshorts, while they’ve been around for only over a year, are the most immediate form of communication, where ജCreative Director Rebecca Ford discusses what’s going on that week during the development of Warframe or Soulframe, something unusual for a lot of live service game studios.

“I feel at this point, we make a point of checking in as often as we caﷺn with the community,” adds Sokolowski. “So, when we put out a PSA or a dev workshop, it's not just a standalone post. We'll revisit the conversations that are being had in the comments of those posts and make a point of sharing updates back to the community.

So at every point at which we could make a point of communicating with the community, we do that. And it has created this really lovely relationship with ourཧ playerbase, where they can rely on us to keep them updated and excited 🌟about what's coming. They need to know that we care about that feedback; having that communication trail between us is a priority.”

A Well-Oiled Machine

Loid holding the Operator in his arms in Warframe.

That level of transparency not only translates to their day-to-day activities but also to the Prime Time show, a live stream where the Community Team discusses updates while they play the game, bringing a chill 𓆉atmosphere while also proving important as a point of communication with the 𓃲users.

“For us, asꦑ sꦛoon as the cameras turn on, we're just continuing the conversations we were already having before that,” says McKone, “and I think what makes it enjoyable to watch is that we care about Warframe and we're players ourselves, so we don't have to put on any act or prepare for what we're about to do; we're diving into the content that everyone else is playing.”

“I also think that because of the time the stream is at for us, we get a little loopy”, McKone adds while laughing. “Even though it's only 6 pm our time, we ⛎have♑ just done a day of work, so when we are pretty silly on the stream (especially Dani and I), that's unfortunately genuine.”

From mild in-camera teasing between coworkers and amusing in-game interactions with players of the game to other legendary moments (we salute you, fellow Tenno ‘bonerpants’), these streams are a staple for the community, as not only they serve as a source of information about the game, but it also brings a relaxed experience you can𓄧 play on the ܫbackground while you play.

ꦏ“It's fun to see comments like ‘it feels like this is⛎ just like the usual dynamic in the office’ because it is pretty much like that,” says Sokolowski. “Everyone is enjoying what they're doing, and we all care about the same thing.

That kind of passion and energy that we get from our teammates is exemplified on the strꦍeams; we get on camera, and everyone's energy is put right back into the community. And then they give it back to us, and it's just this like holistic, lovely cycle of chaos and crying, laughing to tears, and being silly and stressing [Senior Broadcast Specialist] Ruu out, in most instances.”

A Community That Never Hesitates To Jump In

Not everything is on-camera shenanigans, as Digital Extremes also does important, continuous charity work, even partnering with Make-A-Wish and the Canadian Mental Health Association during Tennocon 2025. In 2🍌024, another collaboration with Make-A-Wish saw the birth of the character of Ollie, voiced by James Conlin, who was warmly received and quickly became a beloved 🐼character.

♈“I think Warframe as 🐼a space has become more than just a game for a lot of people,” explains Sokolowski. “We see that a lot in TennoCon, where people come and meet their Warframe friends, and when it comes to something like a charity campaign, we're always shocked by the result. It's tough to be able to give right now in the world, but somehow the community comes through, and I think it's because of that connection that goes beyond the game.

“They feel encouraged to participate, because they believe not only in Warframe, but also in the studio and the staff. When someone shares their story, wanting to help fund the kind of research that could help them or someone they know, likeꦯ their mom, those years of being on live streams and connecting with players return that dedication back to us.”

But this is far from being their only charity work, as the Community Team also organizes different yearly campaigns like Movember and the Ques🐠t to Conquer Cancer, where the whole player base rallies to fulfill the charity donation goals, and it’s admirable that the community always shows up excited to help.

“I don't even know how we can get through a stream because we're just trying not to cry from all the overwhelming support”, adds McKone. “Charity work is always such a community lift, and I get to work with our Warframe creators during these times ♉too; we put out a signup form for them, giving their time to raise money💫 for the QGCC campaign, and we had over 50 or more creators who want to set time apart from their day and raise money.”

That collective effort between DE and the community proved to be more than enough, as over $300,000 was rais🐼ed for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, with the campaign itself raising more than a million dollars over the past five years.

“That suppor𓄧t is just incredible, but I think it ♚makes sense. In the game, we recently announced changes for the new player experience specifically, and veteran players were cheering just as loudly. When you translate that over to raising money for charity, it just makes total sense to see people raising money for someone they've never met, for a greater cause. Being able to see that support through our community is really touching.”

Whether it is a charity campaign or supporting projects like the upcoming Soulframe, the Warframe community is always ready to bring a massive amount of energy and excitement, and if you take the time to stop and talk to them, you’l꧂l find out that everyone who’s visiting London during Tennocon is having the best time. This game fosters one of the most energetic, yet endearing gaming communities, and it’s a testament to how hard the Community Team of Digital Extremes works to make that relationship happen.