Digital Extremes announces Warframe Switch port plan

Digital Extremes has confirmed it is bringing its popular free-to-play massively multiplayer online (MMO) shooter Warframe to the Nintendo Switch dockable handheld console, with Panic Button chosen for the porting process.

First announced back in 2012, Warframe - from the company responsible for the multiplayer element of BioShock 2 and the entirety of comic-book-inspired shooter The Darkness II - sees the player plunged into the role of a Tenno fighting back using ancient battle exoskeletons dubbed Warframes against their slave masters the Grineer. Whether it's because of or despite its sci-fi trappings, the game has proven extremely popular: Digital Extremes claims more than 38 million registered players, though a smaller number of those generate revenue through the game's microtransaction system.

Previously available on Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, the game is now being ported to Nintendo's Switch handheld console - and Digital Extremes has picked Panic Button to handle the port, following the success of the company's ports of Rocket League, Doom, and Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus to the platform.

Announced during TennoCon, the company's annual Warframe convention, the port is expected to bring full access to the game complete with its 35 Warframe exoskeletons, hundreds of weapons, and thousands of customisation options - which are available both through gameplay and through microtransactions. Details, however, are scant: Neither Digital Extremes nor Panic Button have announced a release date, and neither have they confirmed the heavily-expected full cross-play functionality that will allow Switch players to team up with users on any other platform.