Warframe has stepped into a fresh new category of gaming with its recent collaboration with the popular roguelike card game Balatro. Many players have signaled that they’d love to see the potential for more IP crossovers in the future. Are more collabs in the cards?
The wildly popular poker card battler Balatro introduced Warframe-themed elements back in December of 2024, capturing fans’ attention and prompting speculation about Digital Extremes’ broader collaboration strategy in the future.
While no official future collaborations have been announced, we broached the subject during a developer Q&A at PAX East. In response, Creative Director Rebecca Ford shed some light on the team’s collaborative approach. “Collaborations) always come from friends,” she began. Ford emphasized that these partnerships are organic, driven by genuine connections with friends rather than formal licensing meetings. “Whoever is down to get a beer with me, we’ll talk,” she concluded, illustrating Digital Extremes’ informal and personal approach to collaboration.
This openness suggests that fans might see more surprising partnerships in Digital Extreme’s future, potentially branching into various unexpected realms of gaming and beyond. With the studio branching out with Soulframe and an entirely new fantasy aesthetic, we could see a plethora of options cropping up as the popularity of both games crescendos. With community excitement already high from the Balatro crossover, there’s no doubt Warframe players are undoubtedly curious to see who the next “friend” of Digital Extremes might be, and what unique collaborations could result from these conversations.
