At TennoCon 2026, Digital Extremes revealed Warframe: Tau, the next major chapter in its ever-evolving space ninja game. Warframe: Tau takes players to the Tau system for the first time since the Old War.
Like most winter Warframe updates, Tau brings new story missions, a frame, and a plethora of quality-of-life changes, among other additions. Continue reading to learn everything we know about Warframe: Tau so far, including its release date, story, new Warframe, and card game.
Warframe: Tau release date & platforms
Warframe: Tau drops in Winter 2026, as part of the final update of this year. Usually, winter updates drop in the second week of December. For reference, Warframe 1999 arrived on December 13, 2024, whereas The Old Peace dropped on December 10, 2025.
Digital Extremes should reveal a concrete release date for this update closer to launch in one of its upcoming devstreams. Like previous updates, Warframe: Tau will be available on all current and last-gen consoles and PC, including PS4 and Xbox One.
Warframe: Tau story & setting
Warframe: Tau adds a new binary star system, Tau, for players to explore. The storyline in this upcoming update begins in Fornax, a noir Blade Runner-style lawless city drenched in a never-ending black rain.
Fornax is a sentient metropolis drowning in corruption and violence. It’s populated with degenerates and thugs; overseen by the Hunra, a brutal kingpin at the center of it all. There are also Drowners, a new Sentient enemy faction that patrols Fornax and (presumably) the dark corners of Tau.
Warframe: Tau’s story unfolds from the perspective of Brysko (more on him later), a new noir-themed frame working with Albrecht Entrati to infiltrate the Sentient criminal underbelly in Fornax.
Who is Warframe Brysko?
As mentioned above, Brysko is a noir-themed Warframe coming to Warframe: Tau. He’s the game’s 67th Warframe, voiced by the impeccable Matthew Mercer (Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil 6, Yusuke Kitagawa in Persona 5).
Character-wise, Brysko fits into the typical hard-boiled detective archetype, complete with unprecedented cynicism for the world that’s followed by constant inner monologues.
As for gameplay, Brysko relies on an Exalted Pistol and a pair of brutal Fist weapons to take down enemies. He’s working for both Albrecht Entrati and an enforcer in Fornex, in a quest to take down Hunra.
What is Portau in Warframe: Tau?
Portau is a new card game in Warframe: Tau. At the heart of Fornex lies the casino where players can partake in Portau to test their luck. It’s Warframe’s first original card game that puts its own flair on poker with suits of Blooms, Cores, Moons, and Suns.
Portau can be played with other NPCs. As of this writing, it’s not confirmed whether it can be played online with other players.
That’s everything we know about Warframe: Tau. At TennoCon 2026, Digital Extremes revealed a 30-minute gameplay video showcasing Brysko in action, as well as snippets of Fornex and Portau.
The studio also revealed and launched Warframe: Tau’s new official soundtrack, View from the Top, which players can listen to below.
Before Warframe: Tau arrives, Digital Extremes will be releasing another update named Iceblade of the Narin. Players can learn all about it here.
FAQs
Is Warframe: Tau a standalone experience?
No, players have to play through all major chapters up until Iceblade of the Narin to access Warframe: Tau.
Who is voicing Warframe Brysko?
Warframe Brysko is voiced by Matthew Mercer.
