Every Warframe, including Primes, in release order

You should really know your history, Tenno.

An assortment of Warframes standing in the corridor of a Grineer ship
Image via Digital Extremes

At the heart of Warframe are the Frames themselves. These artifacts of alien power each have access to a range of abilities, their own lore, a wardrobe filled with an assortment of cosmetics, and their own playstyle.

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Developer Digital Extremes is constantly adding new Warframes to the game, so there is always something new to chase. For those who are curious about Warframe’s history, we have a list of all the Warframes in release order. Each one has some additional details added, and the list is split between the standard version of the Frames and their posher, gilded Prime versions.

All Warframe release dates, in order

Remember, Warframe launched in beta and is quite a different game now from the one Digital Extremes originally designed. The design philosophy has changed a lot over the years, and you can actually track this quite a bit through the release dates. If you are looking for more of a Tier List, then we have all of the Warframes ranked, as well.

WarframeRelease DateUpdate
AshOctober 25, 2012Closed Beta – a limited group of people were allowed in to play.
ExcaliburOctober 25, 2012Closed Beta
EmberOctober 25, 2012Closed Beta
LokiOctober 25, 2012Closed Beta
TrinityOctober 25, 2012Closed Beta
RhinoOctober 25, 2012Closed Beta
VoltOctober 25, 2012Closed Beta
MagOctober 25, 2012Closed Beta
FrostJanuary 29, 2013Update 6.0 – we get Frost, who dominates the defensive mission meta for years to come.
NyxJanuary 29, 2013Update 6.0 – Frost might have overshadowed Nyx, but a nearly a decade later she would give me my favorite way to nuke a Necramech.
BansheeMarch 18, 2013Update 7.0 – another update with two Warframes; Banshee would offer an interesting option for high-damage builds or support-focused builds while the open beta goes into full swing.
SarynMarch 18, 2013Update 7.0: The real star of this update. Saryn has been the center of overpowered builds ever since.
VaubanMay 17, 2013Update 7.11 – this update saw Vauban added to the game, and he would soon become very dominant in the raid meta.
NovaJuly 13, 20213Update 9.0 – this saw Nova arrive, the first Warframe designed by the community via the design council.
NekrosSeptember 13, 2013Update 10.0- Nekros instantly became a hot commodity for resource farmers.
ValkyrNovember 20, 2013Update 11.0 – Valkyr would arrive with the Tigris, a weapon that would become pretty infamous for one-phasing multi-phase boss fights.
OberonDecember 19, 2013Update 11.5 – there was a really short wait between Valkyr and Oberon, with the deer god dropping just a month later.
ZephyrFebruary 5, 2014Update 12.0 – Zephyr arrived, along with a new HUD for the main game.
HydroidApril 9, 2014Update 13.0 – Hydroid arrived with a bit of a splash, and a later augment would make him a great farm frame. Eventually, he’d be reworked into a monster.
MirageJuly 18, 2014Update 14.0 – Mirage arrived in the same update as the quest system and the player’s own ship. A very interesting time for Warframe.
LimboOctober 24, 2014Update 15.0 – Limbo arrived as the ultimate Troll Frame, being able to banish other players and trap them in the Void.
MesaNovember 27, 2014Update 15.5 – this update introduced the pistol-packing Queen of damage dealers.
ChromaMarch 19, 2015Update 16.0 – a fun story mission allowed us all to unleash the dragon.
EquinoxJuly 19, 2015Update 17.0 – Veteran players should remember the max-range Equinox farming of Io, Jupiter.
AtlasOctober 1, 2015Update 17.5 – tucked away behind the Jordas Golem, to this day I think this boy just wasn’t worth it.
WukongNovember 25, 2015Update 17.12 – the monkey king brought aggressive tanking to a new level.
IvaraDecember 3, 2015Update 18 – Ivara introduced a more graceful style of stealth to the game.
NezhaDecember 16, 2015Update 18.1 – somewhat fitting that Nezha, a speedster Frame, arrived so quickly after Ivara.
InarosMarch 4, 2016Update 18.5 – this update gave everyone who was struggling to live an easy way to survive the toughest content.
TitaniaAugust 19, 2016The Silver Grove Update – Titania brought the Railjack system to a Warframe and is still a super unique gameplay experience for that reason.
NidusDecember 22, 2016Update 19.5 – my best boy Nidus would appear, offering incredible crowd control and tankiness.
OctaviaMarch 24, 2017Update 20.0 – Octavia hummed her way into our hearts, becoming an absolute monster over the years.
HarrowJune 29, 2017Update 21.0 – Harrow was introduced with a spooky and fun mission that was very tonally different for the game.
GaraOctober 12, 2017Update 22.0 – Gara shook up the defense meta and just happened to usher in the Plains of Eidolon, which changed Warframe forever.
KhoraApril 20, 2018Update 22.18 – This update expanded on the Plains and brought us Khora, allowing us to double up on pets.
Excalibur UmbraJune 15, 2018Update 23.0 – The game’s most unique Warframe arrived after spending time on the Chinese servers. No spoilers, but no Warframe is quite like this one.
Revenant August 24, 2018Update 23.5 – Revenant felt a little at odds with his own lore but would go on to redefine the tank meta.
GarudaNovember 8, 2018Update 24.0 – Warframe‘s second open-world area arrives with Fortuna! This somewhat overshadowed Garduda’s arrival, frankly.
BaruukDecember 18, 2018Update 23.0 – The game’s most unique Warframe arrived after spending time on the Chinese servers.
HildrynMarch 8, 2019Update 24.4 – Hildryn gave us a superb shield tank, moving away from the health-focused tanks of the past.
WispMay 22, 2019Update 25.0 – Everyone’s favorite blend of support and weapons platform landed with a huge impact on the meta.
GaussAugust 29, 2019Update 25.7 – Another speed Frame, the fleet-footed Guass arrived just before his best buddy…
GrendelOctober 31, 2019Update 26.0 – …who was a little slower to get there. Grendel might be a hungry guy, but his kit never seemed to satisfy players, sadly.
ProteaJune 11, 2020Update 28.0 – One of the absolutely powerhouse Frames for all current late game activity, Protea needs no notes and takes no prisoners.
XakuAugust 25, 2020Update 29.0 – Warframe‘s second community design!
LavosDecember 18, 2020Update 29.6 – Lavos introduced a complex but rewarding playstyle that is quite unique.
SevagothApril 13, 2021Update 30.0 – Update 30 reworked Railjack extensively, and gave us this beastly ghost to fight with.
YareliJuly 6, 2021Update 30.5 – The Vent Kids very most bestest friend, Yareli arrived with a splash.
CalibanDecember 15, 2021Update 31.0 – A huge update for the community, this introduced The New War.
GyreApril 27, 2022Update 31.5 – The Angels of Zariman update was huge for lore, and was one of my favorite updates, ever.
StyanaxSeptember 7, 2022Update 32.0 – The solid updates just kept coming, as Veilbreaker introduced us to new modes and brought back fan-favorite Grineer, Kahl-175.
VorunaNovember 30, 2022Update 32.2 – A guest design from comic artists and game designer Joe Madureira.
CitrineFebruary 15, 2023Update 32.2 – Perfect Frame, perfect kit!
KullervoJune 21, 2023Update 33.5 – Kullervo arrived with an expansion to the incredible Duviri Paradox.
DagathOctober 18, 2023Update 34.0 – Dagath arrived with a big bundle of changes but definitely made an impact on her own.
QorvexDecember 13, 2023Update 35.0 – Qorvex was at the center of the Whispers in the Walls update, which massively expanded the game.
DanteMarch 27, 2024Update 35.5 – After 11 years, Dante became the game’s 56th unique Warframe.
Jade???

All Prime Warframes in release order

An illustration of Gauss Prime dashing through a Corpus hallway, leaving soldiers and debris flying behind him.
Now, even fancier. Image via Digital Extremes

Primes are the shinier, slightly better versions of the standard Warframes. Within the lore, many of the Primes were the original designs and creations of the Orokin Era. Many Warframes were created Primes, while others worked there way up to that status via incredible feats against the enemies of the Orokin.

Warframe Release DateUpdate
Excalibur PrimeDecember 18, 2012The very first Prime, this is exclusive to Founders. Has seen a new lease on life thanks to Archon Shards, for me at least.
Frost PrimeMay 3, 2013Update 7.10 – the then king of defense missions got his Prime version in the patch that introduced Operations.
Mag PrimeSeptember 13, 2013Update 10.0 – Mag Prime arrived with Nekros, a fun pairing. At this point, Mag was also incredibly OP thanks to max Pull builds.
Ember PrimeNovember 20, 2013Update 11.0 – At the time, the old “World on Fire” skill made Ember the original EZ-mode Exterminate mission god.
Rhino PrimeMarch 5, 2014Update 12.4 – The King of the Tanks got even better. Rhino Prime with the old stat-boosting Arcane helmet would birth Spyno. Why care when you can just run fast?
Loki PrimeJune 11, 2014Update 13.7 – at one point, Loki Prime was the most expensive trade you could make.
Nyx PrimeSeptember 24, 2014Update 14.8 – Best helmet in the game? Probably.
Nova PrimeDecember 17, 2014Update 15.7 – The first community-designed Frame gets the Prime treatment.
Volt PrimeMarch 25, 2015Update 16.1 – Believe it or not, there were still PvP changes being rolled out at this point in time.
Ash PrimeJuly 7, 2015Update 16.11 – Ash Prime arrives, but more importantly, Carrier Prime!
Trinity PrimeOctober 6, 2015Update 17.6 – You might find this hard to believe, but there was a time when Trinity Prime was meta. Nobody else could keep a team’s energy up like she could.
Saryn PrimeFebruary 16, 2016Update 18.4.12 – A really important update, this gave us both Saryn Prime and Nikana Prime, and nothing would stop them from dominating various metas.
Vauban PrimeMay 17, 2016Update 18.12 – Vauban Prime saw a small rework to the overall kit, replacing a bounce pad ability with Minelayer.
Nekros PrimeAugust 23, 2016Hotfix: The Silver Grove 3
Valkyr PrimeNovember 22, 2016Hotfix 19.0.7 – a noticeable update as it gave us the Liset Prime skin for fancy ships.
Banshee PrimeFebruary 28, 2017Hotfix 19.11.5 – this was a funny Hotfix as DE had to stop us being able to nuke a Raid boss during the opening scene.
Oberon PrimeMay 30, 2017Hotfix 20.6.2 – was actually quite noticeable for what went INTO the Prime vault, as the Vectis was no longer available.
Hydroid PrimeAugust 29, 2017Update 21.6 – This brought the Nami Skyla Prime that a lot of folks slept on. I was not one of them.
Mirage PrimeDecember 13, 2017Update 22.7 – Nothing too exciting happened with this unless you were an Akbolto fan.
Zephyr PrimeMarch 20, 2018Hotfix 22.16.4 – the patch gave us Zephyr Prime who would become surprisingly meta, Kroenen Prime AND full power Exodia Force.
Limbo PrimeJune 19, 2018Hotfix 23.0.3 – Pyranna Prime, baby!
Chroma PrimeSeptember 25, 2018Update 23.9 – Rubico Prime AND Gram Prime in one hit? Game changing.
Mesa PrimeDecember 18, 2018Update 23.9 – Redeemer Prime dropped in and would slide in and out of the one-shot meta for years.
Equinox PrimeApril 2, 2019Hotfix 24.5.8 – a quiet enough patch, frankly.
Wukong PrimeJuly 6, 2019Update 25.3 – Wukong Prime was a hot commodity as he landed on the heels of a rework.
Atlas PrimeOctober 1, 2019Update 25.8 – an easy-access Atlas for those who hated the normal farm.
Ivara PrimeDecember 17, 2019Hotfix 27.0.4 – Warframe was in an odd time as Railjack had dropped, but many folks were not feeling it. Thankfully, everyone loves Froggirl Prime.
Titania PrimeMarch 31, 2020Hotfix 27.3.6 – A rare moment when all three Primes (Titania, Corinth, and Pangolin) would be meta at some point.
Inaros PrimeJuly 14, 2020Update 28.2
Nezha PrimeOctober 27, 2020Update 29.3 – Guandao Prime arrived in this update, and if you haven’t tried it yet, you really should.
Octavia PrimeFebruary 23, 2021Update 29.9 – One of the strongest Frames in the game got gilded.
Gara PrimeMay 25, 2021Update 30.3 – This release landed between two important moments: a full Railjack rework and the arrival of the Sisters of Parvos.
Nidus PrimeSeptember 8, 2021Update 30.7 – Nidus Prime fittingly arrived with the return of Plague Star, a superb event.
Harrow PrimeDecember 15, 2021Update 31.0 – The New War arrives, setting Warframe on an incredible path.
Garuda PrimeMarch 28, 2022Update 31.3
Khora PrimeJuly 16, 2022Update 31.7 – a pretty nutty run of updates around the Zariman and Khora, making her an absolute nuke machine.
Revenant PrimeOctober 5, 2022Hotfix 32.0.9 – Warframe was churning at this point with a constant flow of changes coming from Veilbreaker.
Baruuk PrimeDecember 14, 2022Hotfix 32.2.5
Hildryn PrimeMarch 15, 2023Update 32.3.6 – Everyone’s favorite muscle-mommy Frame got the golden treatment. Infinite shields are still OP.
Wisp PrimeJuly 27, 2023Update 33.6 – Top-tier support gun platform gets Primed. Oh, and Duviri expanded.
Grendel PrimeOctober 18, 2023Update 34.0 – Outisde of Nourish, still one of the worst Frames in the game. (Sorry)
Gauss PrimeJanuary 17, 2024Update 35.0.9 – Still one of the best Frames in the game.
Protea PrimeMay 1, 2024Hotfix 35.5.9
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Aidan O'Brien
A massive gaming fan, Aidan has been bad at esports since before it had a name. Known for haunting Quake and Unreal Tournament servers back in the day, he graduated to being bad at Brood War before moving on to becoming a terrible ADC in any MOBA that will have him. He spends too much time in Warframe and Destiny 2, and is eyeballing Marathon like a starving man looking at a sandwich.