Warframe Tau takes the Tenno beyond the Origin System with a new city, new faction and Brysko

Warframe is preparing one of its biggest setting shifts in years with Tau, a new Narrative Chapter that takes the Tenno beyond the Origin System for the first time. The expansion was revealed during TennoCon 2026 and is planned as a free update for all platforms later in 2026.

The new chapter introduces the Tau System as a fresh Star Chart, with the first major location centered on Fornax. This is not being presented as a small side area. Fornax is described as a Sentient ring city with its own criminal economy, social structure, and enemy presence. At least one more location is also expected, although it has not yet been revealed.

Fornax gives Tau a very different tone from many earlier Warframe settings. The city is shown as a decaying, rain soaked criminal metropolis where black rain harms both the environment and the minds of those living there. A drug called Bloom sits at the center of the city’s crime network, with long term addicts described as Bloom roots. The main story has players working with Albrecht Entrati to investigate the city and the criminal power behind it.

Brysko brings a new infiltration focused Warframe to the Tau update

The Tau chapter will also introduce Brysko, a new Chimera Warframe created by Entrati as an infiltration unit. Unlike a standard Warframe or Protoframe, Brysko has a more specific undercover role inside The Hunra’s criminal circle. He stays silent to the outside world, but has an inner monologue voiced by Matthew Mercer, marking the actor’s first appearance in Warframe.

In the demo, Brysko is shown acting as a low level enforcer while secretly passing information back to Entrati. This gives the story a spy focused structure, with the character trying to gain access to The Hunra’s inner circle without being exposed. The Hunra is described as a crime boss who controls Fornax through Bloom production, enforcers, and smugglers.

Brysko’s combat kit also fits his criminal underworld theme. He uses a brass knuckle melee weapon called Rain & Shine, explosive playing cards, and an Exalted revolver magnum called the Corecracker. Digital Extremes says Brysko will ship directly with the Tau update.

Tau is not only a story expansion. Fornax also introduces Portau, Warframe’s first card mini game. It is built on poker mechanics but uses Sentient themed suits named Blooms, Cores, Moons, and Suns. The activity is tied directly to The Hunra’s gambling dens, giving the city another social layer beyond combat missions.

The update also brings a new enemy faction called the Fornax Drowners. These are Sentients that have evolved differently from those already seen in the Origin System. The city itself mixes casinos, docks, slums, and battlefield imagery, with the demo showing Warframes and Sentients reanimating to repeat old conflicts.

Digital Extremes also addressed concerns that moving to Tau means the Origin System is being left behind. The studio said more story content for the Origin System is still planned and that the goal is to keep both settings active. New and returning players are being pointed toward the Tenno Tracker system, which acts like a guided route through Warframe’s existing story before Tau arrives.

Before Tau, Warframe will also receive more 2026 content. August brings the Shockwave Nightwave takeover tied to Warframe: 1999, while the fall update, Iceblade of Narin, will add a second female ice themed Warframe, Citrine Prime, new Deluxe skins, and a Banshee ability rework. More details are expected in a September 4 devstream from Seoul.