How Warframe maker Digital Extremes aims to thrive under ...

Digital Extremes was part of Leyou, which was acquired recently by Tencent in a deal valued at $1.5 billion. Skiptomaincontent VentureBeatHomepage Events GamesBeat DataPipeline GamesBeatSummitNext2022 AccountSettings LogOut BecomeaMember SignIn VentureBeatHomepage GamesBeat VentureBeat AR/VR BigData Cloud Commerce DataDecisionMakers Dev Enterprise Entrepreneur Marketing Media Mobile Security Social Transportation Follow followusonTwitter followusonFacebook followusonLinkedIn FollowusonRSS TheMachine AI MachineLearning ComputerVision NaturalLanguageProcessing RoboticProcessAutomation Follow FollowusonRSS GamesBeat Games Esports PCGaming Follow followusonTwitter FollowusonRSS Events Upcoming MediaPartner Webinars General Newsletters Gotanewstip? Advertise PressReleases GuestPosts ContributetoDataDecisionMakers Deals DataPipeline Jobs VBLab About Contact PrivacyPolicy × JointheGamesBeatCommunity Free:JointheGamesBeatCommunityforaccessto3premiumpostsandunlimitedvideospermonth. LearnMore Signupwithyourbusinesse-mailtocontinuewithticketpurchase Pleasewait... Share ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter ShareonLinkedIn VentureBeatHomepage SocialLinks Newsletters Events Profile Interestedinlearningwhat'snextforthegamingindustry?JoingamingexecutivestodiscussemergingpartsoftheindustrythisOctoberatGamesBeatSummitNext.Learnmore. TencentpickedupalotofgamepropertiesthismonthwhenitacquiredLeyouTechnologies,aHongKong-basedgamecompany,for$1.5billion.AmongthejewelsareWarframemakerDigitalExtremesaswellasSplashDamage,KingMaker,andRadiance. Thedealisonemoresignoftheacquisitionfrenzyaroundgamesduringthepandemic,whichhashelpedboostgamingbecausepeoplecanplaywithfriendsinasocial-distancedwayanddistractthemselvesfromreality. DigitalExtremes,basedinLondon,Ontario,inCanada,wasfoundedin1993.ThecompanymadegameslikeEpicPinballandTheDarknessII.ButitfounditstruecallingtwodecadeslaterwiththelaunchofWarframe,athird-personshooterandrole-playinggamethathasbeenimmenselypopularasafree-to-playtitle.Warframehasmorethan60millionregisteredusersacrossthePC(SteamandtheEpicGamesStore),PlayStation4and5,XboxOne,andtheNintendoSwitch.AversionforXboxSeriesX/Siscomingin2021.WarframeistheonlygamethatDigitalExtremesisoperatingrightnow. IspokewithDigitalExtremeschiefoperatingofficerSheldonCarter,whohastomanage345gamedevelopersatthecompany.Here’saneditedtranscriptofourinterview. Event MetaBeat2022 MetaBeatwillbringtogethermetaversethoughtleaderstogiveguidanceonhowmetaversetechnologywilltransformthewayallindustriescommunicateanddobusinessonOctober3-4inSanFrancisco,CA. RegisterHere Above:SheldonCarterisCOOofWarframemakerDigitalExtremes.ImageCredit:DigitalExtremes IntroducingSheldonCarterandDigitalExtremes GamesBeat:Tellmeaboutyourself. SheldonCarter:IworkedatBioWareforabitonJadeEmpire.ThatwasthefirstgameIshipped.I’mfromLondon,Ontariooriginally. GamesBeat:Where’sJadeEmpire2? Carter:Iwouldhavelovedtohavemadethatgame![Laughs]It’slikeyourfirstchild,right?Ilovedworkingonthatgame.WehadbigplansforJade2.Idon’tknowwheretheyarenow.TheyhavelotsofothercoolideasinthehopperatBioWarethesedays.ButthenIgottheopportunitytocomebacktoLondonandDigitalExtremes.IwasaproduceronDarkSector.IwascreativedirectoronDarkness2.Andafewotherprojectsinbetweenthat.ThenthewholestudiopiledintoWarframeeightyearsago. I’vebeentakingoverlargerandlargerchunks.I’vebeenCOOforafewyearsnowatthecompany.It’sgoinggreat.We’reonthecuspofanupdatefortheglobalPCbuild.Gamesasaservicewasatotallydifferenttransitionforourteam.Wehaveanupdategoingoutinminutes,Ithink.There’sfurioustypingallaroundmeonSlack,eventhoughwe’reallworkingfromhomerightnow.Thingsaregoinggreat. GamesBeat:InsomewaysyouhaveatransitionfromoneChinesecompanytoanotherChinesecompany,butwasitinterestingoperatingunderLeyouforquitesometime? Carter:Leyouhad–thebestwaytoputitistheyknewweunderstoodourbusinessthebest.Weunderstoodourmarketandourcustomers.Theyleftusalone.I’mnotsayingwedidn’tinteractwiththem.Therearesomegreatpeoplethere.Butourinteractionwiththemwasprettyarm’s-length.TheywerecontenttoletusdowhatwewantedtodoandmakeWarframe. GamesBeat:Doyoureachouttoyourparentcompanies,LeyoubeforeorTencentnow,foranyinsightintotheAsianmarkets,orChinainparticular? Carter:WithTencent,wejustlaunchedonWeGame,theirplatform.Weweredoingthatindependentlyofthiswholeacquisitionaspect.We’veworkedwiththemasapartner.WeGameisthebiggestplatforminChina,andthatwasonewereallywantedtobeon.Itwasniceforus,becauseitwasapreviewofwhatitwouldbeliketoworkwithTencentinadifferentcapacity.They’reourpublisherthere,andwejustlaunchedfourdaysago.Fromthatperspective,they’rerunningtheversionofWarframethat’sinChina,andsoobviouslyweworkclosewiththemintermsofinsightsintothatmarket.It’sworkedoutgreat. Above:FlakcannoninWarframe.ImageCredit:DigitalExtremes SwitchingtoTencent GamesBeat:DoyouexpectanychangesasyoutransitiontoTencent? Carter:Wecertainlydon’tgetthesensethattherewouldbe.SimilartoLeyou,Ithinktheyunderstandthatweunderstandourbusinessreallywell.IfyoulookatthestudiosthatTencentworkswithinthatportfolio,they’restillverymuchincontroloftheirowndestiny.We’reexcitedaboutthataswell. GamesBeat:Itfeelslikeit’ssimilartoLeyou,exceptonalargerscale. Carter:Waybigger,forsure. GamesBeat:Leyouseemedtobecollectingsomewell-runstudios,butthenitstoppedatacertainpoint.Itdidn’tgrowasbigasIthoughtitmight.ButTencentalreadyseemstobethere.Itseemslikeitcouldgetinteresting,tohavethatmanypeersorsistercompanies. Carter:Youneverknow,untilthesethingsgothrough,howit’sallgoingtowork.Butthepotentialtherewithsomeofthosesisterstudiosandwhattheirknowledgewouldbe,that’sexcitingforus. GamesBeat:Doyoufeellikeyoumayhavemoreopportunitiesforexpansionnow? Carter:We’vehadourownforecastingforhiringandhowwewanttogrow.Nothing’schanged.It’sjustwhatweneedasDEcontinuestodomorethingswithWarframeandexpandingthegameintowhatwealwayswantedittobe.Tobetotallyhonest,Ican’tsaynothinghaschangedeitherway.Butouroperationalneeds,that’swhatwebaseourhiringon. GamesBeat:Howmanypeopledoyouhaveatthemoment? Carter:It’sabout345.Ifyoulookatourcareerpage,there’salaundrylist.Wehavealotofpositionsthatwe’realwayslookingfor.Idon’tthinkanythingisgoingtochangethere. GamesBeat:AndisitstillallWarframeallthetime?Arethereotherprojectsorexperimentsintheworks? Carter:DougwouldprobablydisconnectthecallifIrevealedanything.Butrightnow,thewaywe’reoriented,prettymuchtheentirecompanyisfocusedonWarframe. Above:ExcaliburinWarframeonthePS5.ImageCredit:DigitalExtremes GamesBeat:Iknowitwasn’talwaysthatway.Doyoufeellikeyou’regainingsomethingbyhavingsuchafocusontheoneproject? Carter:AfewyearsagowehadagamecalledAmazingEternalswewereworkingon.ThatteamendedupjustallcomingontoWarframe.Whenyouhaveagamewithsomanycontentdesiresandneeds,andalso–obviouslyit’sworkingoutforus.It’sabigsuccess.Forusasastudioitjustmakessenseforustobeworkingonthethingthateveryonehasbeenengagedonforsolong.Eightyearsisalongtimetoworkonaprojectforpeople,butthegamehasalotofdifferentaspectstoit.Itgivesusalotofopportunitiestoletpeoplemovearoundandtrynewthings.Alotoftimes,ifwehaveanewgamepitchinsidethestudio,thequestionoftenendsupbeing,“That’sacoolidea.HowcanweputthatideaintoWarframe?” GamesBeat:Wherearemostofyourpeoplebased? Carter:MostlyallinLondon,Ontario.WehaveastudiointhestateswhereDougworks,althougheveryoneisathomerightnowofcourse.ButthevastmajorityisinLondon,Ontario,Canada. Thestateofgaming GamesBeat:Howdoyouviewthegameindustryatlargerightnow,giventhepositionyou’reinatDigitalExtremes? Carter:Watchingthegenerationchangeisalwaysfascinating.Itgivesyousomeideasaboutwhatstudioswillcometotheforefront,andbasedonthosestudiosyoustartseeingtheideas,thetrends.WesawRiotannouncetheirMMOplans.That’sinteresting.Youseeaflowinsubscription,thewaysubscriptionservicesaregrowingagain,thetraditionalmodelofgamesasaserviceversusthesubscriptionbasis.Cyberpunkshowsthatthere’sstillawindowforbigtriple-A.InthegenerationaltransitionIfindthatyouhavetositandwatchforabit,thefirstsixmonths,togetafeelforhowthelandscapeischanging.Butthoseareafewthings.I’minterestedtoseesubscriptionscomingback GamesBeat:ItfeelslikeoneofCyberpunk’sproblemswastryingtodoalltheplatformsatonce.CallofDuty:Ghostsdidthesamewhenthecurrentgenerationwasbeginning,fivedifferentplatformsfallingatthesametime,anditseemslikeitcanleadtoflyingtooclosetothesun. Carter:Whenyoucanpullitoff–yousawthesuccessofsomethinglikeGenshinImpact.Theydroppedacrossasmanyplatformsastheycouldatthesametime.Yougetthatgroundswell.Ourapproachhasbeenabitdifferent.Weaddplatformsaswego.That’salsoprobablyapartofourstrategy,ourDNA.PC,thenPS4andXbox,thenSwitch.NowwehavethePS5version.TheSeriesXversioniscomingsoon.Ifallthosethingshit–you’reright,you’reflyingprettyclosetothesun,butIcanunderstandwhypeopletryit. GamesBeat:HaveyouthoughtaboutwhatRiotisdoingnow,thenotionofgoingtoplatformslikeSnapchatandinstantgamesandmobile?Therearedifferentwaysabrandcanmovearoundthesedays. Carter:Welookatallofthat.RightnowournextbigfocusisgoingtobetheSeriesXversionofWarframe.We’restillprettyfocusedonourmainmarkets.Butthesizeofourteamleavesuspotentialtodoalotofthings. Above:PlainsofEidolaninWarframeonthePS5.ImageCredit:DigitalExtremes GamesBeat:Thetransactionhereisanexampleoftheinternationalnatureoftheindustry.Doyouthinktheindustryisgoingtokeepmovinginthatdirection,becomingmoreborderless?Couldthataffectyouinthefuture? Carter:OneofthemostexcitingaspectsforuswithlaunchingonWeGameinChinawasthattheTencentcrewwascommittedtoupdatingthegameclosertoglobal.Withourpreviouspublisher,thatwasafinerelationship,butitwastoughertomovethegameatthesamepaceasglobal.OurhappiestversionofWarframeisonewhereallourterritoriesandregionsareplayingthesameversionandcanhaveasharedcommunity,versusfracturedcommunitiesbasedonregion.Thattrendisgoingtocontinue.Wewanttodothatasmuchaswecan.Butobviously,therearegovernmentalrestrictionsincertaincountriesthatpreventthat. GamesBeat:Iscross-platformstillaprioritythesedays,beingascross-platformasyoucanmakeit? Carter:Wedolivestreamswithourcommunityonceaweek,andbigoneseverytwoweeks.Allthetimethequestionis,“WhenwillIbeabletocross-progressoneveryplatformandcross-playwitheveryone?”RightnowyoucandothatwithPS4andPS5,andinsideallthePCcommunities,butofcourse,whatplayerswantistobeabletoplayonanydevicethattheychoose.Gamesbecomeahobby.That’swhatWarframeisforalotofourplayers.It’sahobby,andtheywanttoparticipateinthathobbyoneverydevice.Theydon’twanttohavetowaituntiltheygethome. Whenyouswitchbetweenconsolegenerations,it’sinteresting.Someonewho’sbeenalongtimePCplayermightfinallygetaPS5orwhatever.Theywanttotryitinadifferentway. Warframe’sgrowth GamesBeat:HowbigisWarframeasfarasthenumbersnow?What’sthebiggestplatform? Carter:Consoleintotalprobablyslightly–it’sveryclosebetweenPCandalltheconsolestogether.Butintermsofnumbers,atTennoConthisyear,wehadourbiggestsingledayofWarframeintermsofactiveplayerscomingtoplayandwatchthegame.Eightyearsin,we’reprettyexcitedaboutthat. GamesBeat:Haveyouseenabigpandemiceffectonthegame? Carter:Idon’twanttosayit“helped,”becausewedon’tfeelthatway.Weallfeeltheeffectsofthepandemic.Butthere’sdefinitely–peopleareathomemore,andthey’reabletoplay.Again,ifthisisyourhobby,youhavemoretimeforyourhobby.It’sfunny.Wehaveatoughtimeseparating–whenwelookatthisyear,weallhadtoswitchtoworkingfromhome.Sowhat’sthisgoingtodotothetypeofupdatesandcontentwerelease?Atthesametime,somanyofourplayersareathomeandengagingmore.Itwasawashofayeartofigureout,“Hey,didwedotherightthingsthisyear?Howdowemoveinto2021andtakesomelessonsfromthisyear?”Hopefullyasthevaccinesrolloutandpeoplegobacktonormal,what’sthatgoingtolooklike?It’shardtosay. GamesBeat:Whatkeepsyougoingonthingslikethemarketingside?Howareyoufindingnewusers? Carter:Theplatformexpansionalwaysbringsinfreshblood.Assoonasyouhaveanewconsolegeneration,allthesenewplayerscomein.WealsojustwenttoEpicGamesStore.Youmakesomeassumptions.YouthinkpeoplewhoarePCplayersaremaybeonboth.They’realreadyonSteamandtheyhaveEpicasasecondary.Butyou’renotsure.Theamountofnewplayerswe’vehadfromlaunchingonEpicisactuallysurprisingandreallycoolforus.Newplayersareobviouslythelifebloodofanygame.Wehadquiteafewdifferentonesoverthepast–God,it’sonlybeenamonth.Butoverthepastmonththere’sbeenalotofdifferentavenuesforthegametogrow. WhenwelaunchedonSwitchin2018,November2018,withinamonthwehadamillionregisteredusersontheplatform.Eachtimewehitanewplatformit’salwayssurprisingforustosee,thatmanypeopledownloadingWarframeforthefirsttime.Theymighthaveheardofit,orplayeditonPCalongtimeago.Butwhenwehitthesenewplatforms,alotofnewplayersareactivatedforthefirsttime.Ormaybeit’sthethirdtimethey’veplayedWarframe,butthey’replayingitagain. Above:OberoninGasCityinWarframe.ImageCredit:DigitalExtremes GamesBeat:Howhaveinfluencersandstreamersmadeadifferencewhenitcomestomakingpeoplemoreawareofthegame? Carter:Wefindthatwe–thereissomecomponentofthemthatworksforourgame.Butitendsupusuallybeingmoreaboutthosehardcorefansthatbecomepartners.Wehavemoresuccesswiththem.OurgameisaPvEgame.It’snotsomethingwheretheyhavetobethethingthatdrivesit.I’mnotsayingthat’sthecaseforallPvPgameseither,butinourscenario,itbecomesapartofourco-devthatwehavewithouraudience.Streamersarejustoneaspectthatbecomesaninputchannelforus. GamesBeat:Arelocalizationandculturalizationbigtasksforyou?Doesitrequirealotofmanpower? Carter:We’vespecializedoursupportteams.Youenduphavingacommunitygroupforthelanguage,asupportgroupforthatlanguage,andthenthosepeoplestartturningintotranslatorsaswell,becausewe’relocalizing.Wehaveafewpeopleonthelocalizationteamthatjustworkontheoutsourcingaspect,butthenalotofitisinside.Wehavesometalentedfolksforeverylanguage.TheyworkoutofLondon,sowe’regettingapersonalizedtouchonlocalization. GamesBeat:Youhavetheupdatethat’songoingrightnow.What’syourschedulelikeforthenearfuture?What’scominginthenextyear? Carter:InthelaststreamwehadonWednesday,wepromisedthatwe’dmakefewerpromises.Wehaveawholepipeofthingsthatwe’veletpeopleknowarecoming.Now,theorderofthat,hopefullythey’llstillbesurprisedandexcitedbywhat’shappening.Butwe’renotmakinganynewpromisesnow.We’regoingtofinishdeliveringtheoneswe’vemadesofar. Thecontextofthis–atTennoConthesummerbeforelast,wedidaveryambitiousdeliveryofallthisgreatstuff,allthesespacebattleideasandconnectinginallthesedifferentways.Itwasveryambitious,andwerealizeditwasgoingtobeprettytough.Wehadtosplititallintoparts.Wewanttomakesureallthatcontentcomesoutandwerestrainourselvesfromgettingtooexcitedandpromisingtoomuch,soeveryonehastherightexpectations.We’retryinghardtosetexpectationsforourplayerssothattheyknowthingsaregoingtocomeoutinphases.That’spartofthebeautyofliveservicegames. GamesBeat:Atthelevelyou’reat,doyouwanttobecomeakindofculturalphenomenon?Isthatinthesetofgoalssomewhere? Carter:Maybeit’sbecausewe’reCanadian,butwedon’tsetgoalslikethat.Obviouslywewantpeopletoknowandlovethegame.WithWarframe,wealwaysfeellikewe’rethebiggestgamethatmaybenotallofyourfriendshaveheardofyet.There’sstillroomforustocatchalotofotherpeople. GamesBeat:CirclingbacktoopportunitieswithTencent,whatdoyouthinkaboutthere? Carter:I’mprobablymissingsomethingwhenIthinkaboutthis,butthebiggestopportunityIseeisthepotentialforcollaboratingandhearingmoreideasfromoursisterstudios.Butalsojusttheabilitytokeepdoingwhatwe’redoing.Wehaveourownroadmap.Weknowwhatwewanttodo.We’rejustexcitedthatwecankeepdoingthat.Potentially,iftherearenewideaswecanfindbecausethere’sacollaborationbetweenthosestudios,thatwouldbeamazing. GamesBeat'screedwhencoveringthegameindustryis"wherepassionmeetsbusiness."Whatdoesthismean?Wewanttotellyouhowthenewsmatterstoyou--notjustasadecision-makeratagamestudio,butalsoasafanofgames.Whetheryoureadourarticles,listentoourpodcasts,orwatchourvideos,GamesBeatwillhelpyoulearnabouttheindustryandenjoyengagingwithit.Learnmoreaboutmembership. Author DeanTakahashi Topics Business GamesBeat PCGaming MetaBeat2022 JoinmetaversethoughtleadersinSanFranciscoonOctober3-4tolearnhowmetaversetechnologywilltransformthewayallindustriescommunicateanddobusiness. RegisterHere GamesBeatSummitOn-DemandLibrary Headovertoouron-demandlibrarytoviewsessionsfromtheliveeventandrewatchyourfavoritesessionsfromourvirtualdays. WatchNow Searchjobsandfindyourdreamjobtoday. GetHired × Wemaycollectcookiesandotherpersonalinformationfromyourinteractionwithour website. Formoreinformationonthecategoriesofpersonalinformationwecollectandthepurposesweuse themfor, pleaseviewourNoticeatCollection.