The last several years have seen space-action MMO Warframe grow in ways that have frequently been astonishing. Since 2017, Canadian developer Digital Extremes has expanded Warframe with huge open-world zones, added ship-to-ship space combat with Railjacks, and even created zombified mechs for players to pilot into battle. The New War expansion promises to tie all of this together in the largest narrative update so far, setting Warframe up for a new era – and it’s been heavily shaped by almost two years of pandemic lockdowns and isolation.

Rebecca Ford is one of the most recognisable faces of Warframe. Ford is the director of community and live operations at Digital Extremes, and she hosts the studio’s regular developer streams, keeping the community updated on what’s on the way for Warframe. In-game, however, she’s the ever-present voice of the Lotus, the player’s mysterious guide. Ford has now worked on Warframe for nine years, and says the New War is the proudest she’s ever been of something the studio has made.

“I find myself looking at the depth of this quest, emotionally, creatively, collaboratively,” Ford tells us. “The team has never been bigger, the team has never been through more hardships, in terms of COVID-19 and working from home, and yet somehow, throughout it all, the New War has come together. And it’s taken so much inspiration from the team itself, so for me to look at it in its current state and see what we’re doing, I am just so proud.”