Warframe team explain the inspiration behind 1999’s Hollvania setting

Warframe: 1999 is set to give longtime players of the MMO an entirely new world to explore, as Hollvania takes center stage. In our conversation with Community Director Megan Everett, we asked exactly what players can expect and how many similarities those who lived through the 90s might be able to spot.

With a new time period on the horizon, it’s only fitting that players get some new environs. That’s where Hollvania comes into the equation. The Central Mall serves as the main point of reference so far, a ruined shopping center with recognizable staples like food stalls and arcades.

Though it isn’t meant to serve as a 1:1 translation of anything we have in the real world, it serves as an important touchstone to the update’s overall theme.

It also does a great job of igniting the player’s search for the more Warframe-specific lore, and it’s one of the more compelling settings that the game has seen so far.

When asked about what exactly Hollvania has in store for the community, Everett stressed how the story to date serves as the driving influence for the final design.

“I think the biggest thing we want to maintain when we do this is an alternate 1999 universe that feels very Warframe and not just something like the streets of New York. We don’t want it to be one-to-one with that.

“Two things that are really important with Hollvania is that it has that military Scaldra influence that you can see throughout the world.

“Also, and this was hard to pick up in the demo because it was very fast-paced in movement, there are very relatable sounds within the environment and little influences here and there that are very 90s, like an infomercial blasting from this person’s house,” Everett explains.

“There are those kinds of little Easter eggs, but also having the military here, they’ve taken over and influenced this world.”

Digital Extremes

Beneath that layer of intriguing storytelling is something a little more jovial, and almost too relatable for those born in the 80s and 90s.

“On the flip side, a very important part of development is keeping that very virus-heavy influence where nobody wanted to get 100 CDs back in the day. There are some services out there that may or may not have been good for your computer. I think it’s cheeky and fun that we’re really leaning into that.

“That’s what the liches are all about, and a lot of what’s been happening is very virus-coded in terms of protecting yourself on the internet, illegal downloads and that kind of thing. I really enjoyed that aspect of it and the world that very much has that military influence.

“We also have that virus-infested influence, and they’re always fighting each other, and no one’s ever really winning, but they’re this constant force in Hollvania that you have to figure out.

The development team is keen to impress upon the community that this is a Warframe location. That said, the cultural touchstones it offers are some of the most exciting that the game has produced thus far.

Sure, the Backstreet Boys-esque boyband may not be for everyone, but in a game that already offers escapism in spades, it’s nice to have an alternative that makes the consequences of our actions feel all the more visceral.

Warframe: 1999 is set to release in December, with the exact date yet to be confirmed by developer Digital Extremes.