New Warframe Nokko is the "cheeky" before The Old Peace storm, Digital Extremes tells us

Warframe is a bit of an enigma. To spectators it's a fast-paced, uber-complicated hack and slash fest, with billions of resources, a dictionary's worth of bizarre words, and an aesthetic that fuses traditional Egyptian-esque golds with art deco-style patterns (and that's before you look at the frames themselves). In 2025 alone we've seen the glamr rock-inspired Temple and spider-like Oraxia, and now living mushroom Nokko joins the fray. 1999 has come and gone, its grimy '90s feel now relegated to the history books, and now all eyes are on The Old Peace, a more traditional Warframe story. It's been quite the rollercoaster, to say the least.

Ahead of The Old Peace and mysterious Devil's Triad, Warfame's latest update, The Vallis Undermind takes us back to the eponymous Orb Vallis, Venus' snowy open-world region that sits above the mining city of Fortuna. It's been a while since we've spent time there (as a newer player I found myself breezing through it and never returning), but now the Corpus has infiltrated the Deepmines and it's our job to stop them.

The highlight of this update is, of course, Nokko, an adorable mushroom-themed frame who focuses on dealing damage over time and healing up his allies. Designed to be playful and childlike, he's the perfect addition to my ever-expanding Toxin roster.

But Nokko has a wider purpose in Warframe. Community director Megan Everett tells me that the team "wanted to bring more life to the Fortuna/Vallis area. We really wanted to give players a reason to return, and Vallis is already filled with different types of fungi, so we honed in on that aspect and branched the idea out from there." Given that Fortuna is my favorite city, that's music to my ears.

With Nokko, the team "knew [that it] wanted to keep things fun, cute, and cheeky before we went for something more heavy with The Old Peace later this year. Our initial inspirations were to ensure his movements and abilities felt playful and youthful, with a sleepy-ish goofy vibe sprinkled in. Initially we said 'he should be like Yareli's younger brother' since her personality is so similar, but our team ran with that idea and seemingly made it canon! We're all so thrilled people have taken such a quick liking to him."

But, as mentioned, 2025's been a wild year for frames, with the devilish Uriel still lurking on the horizon. I ask Everett how the team continues to come up with new, innovative ideas, especially when it feels like there's now a frame of every shape and size.

"Warframe inspirations come from all around us and from every member of the team. I'd say every person at the studio has at least one idea for a new Warframe, so it's hard to ever think we would run out of original ideas. The players give us Warframe ideas, too, and we have made a few of them a reality! Xaku, for example, was a community idea that became a much-loved Warframe.

"We keep things fresh by just hearing out every idea from wherever it comes from, our team, the community, or just something that inspires us in our everyday lives. Sometimes, the update theme comes first, and we brainstorm what genre of Warframe would fit, or vice versa!"

So… vampire frame? I know we have Garuda, but as a Vampire: The Masquerade fan and Astarion savant, that'd be really cool (although, given creative director Rebb Ford and I bonded over Astarion dumping us, maybe those emotions are perhaps still a little too raw).

The Vallis Undermind is out now, but you'll need to complete The New War quest in order to access it. You can either unlock Nokko by completing Deepmines Bounties and collecting his components, or by grabbing individual blueprints from Nightcap in Fortuna if you've reached rank four with him. If you want to play him immediately, though, you can buy the Nokko bundle for $24.99 / £19.99 which includes Nokko himself, various cosmetics, and 300 Platinum.

If you're looking for some new loot but don't want to splash the cash, we have a list of all the currently active Warframe codes to score you some free glyphs and cosmetics. Alternatively, if you're looking for something new to play with your pals while you wait for The Old Peace, here's a guide to all the best multiplayer games.

Have you been playing Nokko? Let us know your thoughts on Discord or, if you're not feeling the new 'fun guy,' what are your favorite frames? Mine is Nyx, largely because I have Amelia Tyler whispering in my ear.