Digital Extremes is once again opening the doors to Soulframe: Preludes, the closed pre-alpha for its upcoming fantasy multiplayer role-playing game, coinciding with TennoCon. Players who sign up on the game's official website before 11:59 PM ET on July 12 are guaranteed access to the current playtest build.
This expanded access is a TennoCon tradition for the developer, allowing a surge of new players to test the game and provide crucial feedback. Lead designer Scott McGregor acknowledged the inherent risks of such an influx, stating that the team braces for potential hardware and server strain, as well as unforeseen bugs. "It’s exciting and always terrifying because it’s a flood of people and you pray the hardware survives, that the servers don’t crash, and that they don’t all get stuck in the same sthipot or find a bug that we missed," McGregor told Polygon.
Players who gain access to Soulframe: Preludes can experience content recently showcased in developer streams, including a new boss called the Mendicant Reinbreaker and a sword-whip weapon. Future updates planned for this fall are also accessible, with one notable addition being mounts.
Senior community manager Sarah Asselin highlighted the importance of new player perspectives for refining the game's systems. "I’m always particularly interested in the new-player experience, and when you have new players, you get more feedback on the new-player experience," Asselin said. This feedback is vital for identifying and addressing issues within the game's onboarding and core mechanics.
Soulframe: Preludes is currently only available on PC. Digital Extremes has not yet announced a specific release window for the game's full 1.0 launch.