About me
I am Zldalton, a silent player who has been a Tenno for nine long years. Like many others, I have contributed to the Warframe universe in my own small way.
- By actively participating in the financial support of the game by purchasing every Access Pass and every alternative pack for nine years, which, I remind you, are their main source of income, non-intrusive but highly monetizable according to their terms.
- By helping and supporting new players, while selling them on the merits of a game that listens to its community.
Finally, by being present at every decisive moment in the game’s history, except one… I am, of course, referring to the famous FOUNDER CAMPAIGN, which included EXACLIBUR PRIME, LATO PRIME, and SKANA PRIME, in which only a very small number of players were offered the opportunity to participate.
FOUNDING PROGRAM: CLARIFICATIONS
To understand the pain that the name Excalibur Prime evokes in thousands of Tennos, we must go back to December 2012, when Warframe took its first tentative steps.
At the time, Digital Extremes (DE) launched its founding programme, a support campaign to finance the game’s development. In exchange for an investment, players received various benefits…
And for the most generous, an ultimate reward: Excalibur Prime, the iconic starter Warframe chosen by 55 to 60% of players, straight out of nowhere!
In November 2013, the doors closed for good, sealing access to these items and becoming the central argument for an exclusivity that continues to this day.
As a reminder, the founding programme was offered during the game’s beta and exclusively on PC from 19 December 2012 to 1 November 2013, which included:
The goal was to finance development by encouraging players to support the game by offering them benefits under the catchy marketing slogan ‘for a limited time only, here’s your chance to cut the line PLUS get exclusive in-game items and privileges only available to founders’.
This will have consequences for future generations of players, because without having participated in this programme, none of us will be able to obtain EXCALIBUR PRIME to date.
AN ‘ETHICAL’, MARKETING OR LEGAL PROMISE THAT IS OVER 10 YEARS OLD
More than 10 years later, this ‘promise’ or ‘marketing slogan’ increasingly resembles an obsolete relic that should not be eternal and acts as a ball and chain hindering the game’s evolution.
According to a few posts on social media, some players seem to want to build a legend around a potential legal risk, which is contractual with the terms and conditions of sale of the Founder’s Pack in the event of a re-release.
- No official source is clear on the exact terms of the sale, and here is Warframe’s official marketing announcement for its Packs.
- Three founders have confirmed to me that no contract prohibiting the re-release of these items was officially signed between the seller and the buyer at the time of the transaction, initiating any contractual procedure between the two parties.
- A slogan that appeared in a purely marketing context, considered ‘moral’ or “ethical”, and not in a formal contractual document, such as ‘for a limited time only, here’s your chance to cut the line PLUS get exclusive in-game items and privileges only available to founders’ does not in any way mean that this content will never be reissued.
- Reminder of the TOS (terms of service) signed and approved by all players: ‘All content provided by Digital Extreme remains the exclusive property of Digital Extreme. Your purchase gives you a limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive licence to use the content in the game in accordance with the terms and conditions.’
CONCLUSION
If DE decides to reissue this content, ‘misleading commercial practice’ would not be an option, even if this promise nevertheless entails a form of moral or commercial responsibility, repeated.
In short: please continue to respect DE’s financial interests, which is your ‘ethical’ duty and the main reason why you are a ‘founder’.
Under no circumstances is the re-release of items available for a limited time illegal or punishable by law. So please do not spread false rumours by talking about criminal law or inciting action against DE, which could pose a serious threat to the franchise.
FOUNDERS AND A COMMUNITY FROZEN IN TIME
The founders, once considered the saviours of a fledgling game, are now frozen in time and have virtually disappeared.
~ According to community statistics, the approximate number of players who are founders and still active is around 0.03%.
Some of the despicable players cultivate a sick, toxic elitism, refusing any debate and considering themselves ‘guardians of a temple’ when they do not even own these so-called exclusive items. They fiercely oppose any re-release and encourage a small group of founders to cling to their trophies as if they were titles of nobility… as if they alone were responsible for the franchise’s success.
On the official forums, all it takes is for a player to mention the possible return of Excalibur Prime by any means whatsoever to spark a series of clashes or aggressive counter-arguments. To top it all off, a moderator shows up, gives a cold and final response, and closes the post!
YES, I have had confirmation from former moderators on this subject :
The moderators have been given clear instructions: no discussions about the return of Excalibur Prime; they systematically close any such topics.
« Excalibur Prime et les autres objets des fondateurs sont exclusifs au pack des fondateurs et ne feront pas leur retour. »
To be clear: there is no discussion about the return of Excalibur Prime; they systematically close the topics.
While other founders are formally benevolent, setting an example of good faith and wishing that other players could also enjoy obtaining these items that are so dear to many fans of the franchise.
These are the true founders! They encourage fairness and want all new generations to be able to have a reissue of these items, because this ‘promise’ acts as a prison and leaves them behind in a community that has grown enormously, changed, and is advancing and evolving the game year after year, desperately waiting for the return of their Prime starters in silence, as if their words were worthless.
DE find themselves locked in the box they themselves sealed, fuelling widespread frustration:
- Respecting an old commitment that needs to evolve
- Keeping the promise and cultivating frustration among the majority of players
- A promise that was meant to honor the past, but ultimately destroys the present
Here is a comment from a founder I had the pleasure of meeting, someone who is wise, enlightened and very empathetic, regarding this widespread and justified frustration.
«CROSS-PLATFORM» WARFRAME OPENS UP TO EVERYONE AND LEAVES BEHIND THE LEGACY OF EXCALIBUR PRIME
After several attempts at deployment between Cross-save and Cross-Play, for each digital platform, it finally came to fruition with an official announcement on 17 January 2024, with cross-platform play open to all eligible accounts.
With the arrival of Cross-Play in Warframe, the game universe became more unique than ever. This feature allowed players from all PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, PC and even mobile platforms to meet in the same gaming space.
However, this openness has highlighted the existence of Excalibur Prime, our iconic mascot that was only accessible to PC players at the time, and even though encounters with the founders remain rare, what was once a symbol of exclusivity has now become a source of curiosity, quickly turning into frustration.
Players who have never had access to this campaign are asking more and more questions and feel a growing divide between themselves and older players. This feeling of inequality has intensified, creating a sense of frustration within the Warframe community.
Here are some examples of comments on social media:
- reddit : « I’ve played thousands of hours on Warframe, and every time I come across an Excalibur Prime, I feel a pang of injustice at not being able to see it. It’s frustrating to see this exclusivity. «
- Warframe official forums : “Cross-play has really highlighted Excalibur Prime, and I feel completely excluded. It creates an inequality that’s hard to swallow.”
- Facebook : under an official post: “It’s great to see everyone playing together, but Excalibur Prime remains a thorn in our side. We really feel left out.”
And many others…
It is entirely understandable that a cosmetic item such as a skin or visual accessory would be considered exclusive, as it allows players to personalise their gaming experience without disrupting the overall balance.
However, when it comes to a complete character such as Excalibur Prime, with their weapons and skills, this has a much more significant impact on the gaming experience.
This exclusivity creates inequality among players, altering the dynamics of progression.
So while an exclusive skin can enrich the aesthetics of the game, a complete character like Excalibur Prime and his weapons tend to unbalance the overall experience.
Evolution of the opinions about the Excalibur Prime reedition
‘THE HOLD PEACE’ PANDORA’S BOX IS OPEN
Let’s talk about Tennocon 2025. There were a lot of emotions that day, and revelations too, but one teaser in particular struck me. I am, of course, referring to the new narrative element ‘The Hold Peace’, which spectacularly showcases the famous Excalibur Prime, so coveted and eagerly awaited by so many players, and which sparked a wave of hope at the idea of its return.
I will remember this scene in my mind for the rest of my life:
I was coming back from hospital after an accident, so I was a bit disoriented, and I was so happy to be home to enjoy Tennocon.
I was lying in bed… I turned on Twitch just as the teaser started, and it brought tears to my eyes… Damn! And then… A moment of pure dopamine as a reward for nine long years of waiting, in thick darkness, searching for a glimmer of hope for its return, and then… IT’S BACK!!!
But the next day, the bill was higher than ever… I read the summary stating that it’s just a quest where you can play it, but in no way a permanent re-release… Basically, you play it and then you can’t buy it or anything else, so you’re left with frustration and broken hopes.
I was so devastated that morning that I didn’t get out of bed all day…
Refusing to give in to resignation, I scrolled through all the topics and comments on the subject, hoping to find something that would contradict what I had read on the Warframe website… But the more I read, the more it was confirmed.
« an elite and Precious specimen , claimed only by a select few. While designs for Excalibur prime have been lost to time, Even newer tenno may experience a spark of his brilliance. Make his power your own … if only for a moment »
This is my encounter with ‘The Hold Peace’… if that’s really what it is, this quest will confirm what many others are also feeling: the frustration and pain of seeing Excalibur Prime removed after playing it temporarily. For thousands of players, this experience will be a cruel reminder of what they will never have.
Forum citation
« Worse still, this manoeuvre resembles false advertising, thus breaking with the usual logic of the gaming experience, where you generally play a Frame that you can obtain in one way or another. »
In short: offering a taste of the dream only to take it away again, and reminding us that only ‘the chosen few’ are entitled to it.
I invite you to read this article written in response to today’s Tennocon.
Even though this theory of gameplay being limited to a single quest seems increasingly accurate, there is still no official feedback from DE regarding the specific conditions of this chapter.
EXCALIBUR AND ITS THREE VARIATIONS
Yes, our Warframe Mascot does have three variants.
- Excalibur Umbra : available to everyone at the end of “The Sacrifice.”
- Excalibur Prime : available for purchase between 2012 and 2013 through the Founder’s Program and never reissued.
- Excalibur Umbra Prime : available for purchase on August 7, 2015, through the Founder’s Program for the Chinese version of Warframe.
Comparison of Excalibur variants (with passives)
It seems that the Umbra version is similar in terms of pure statistics compared to the Prime version, but due to Umbra’s passive and its modes, it is more akin to a specialist version against ‘sentient beings’ and not some form of equivalent to Excalibur Prime.
In summary, even though Excalibur Umbra matches the base stats of Excalibur Prime, it is not an equivalent, nor any other form of compensation, but rather a Warframe in its own right with its own lore and mode of operation.
Complete the quest ‘The Sacrifice’ to learn more.
PS : Many players have complained about the mechanics of Umbra’s passive ability, which many feel needs to be reworked, something I totally agree with.
GENERAL CONCLUSION AND SOLUTIONS
The situation surrounding Excalibur Prime is divisive and painful, and it is a general obstacle to the proper functioning and consistency of Warframe.
- A wounded, frustrated community with a deep sense of injustice.
- An absent ‘elite’ that is sometimes toxic and pretentious, and another part that is benevolent, empathetic, and desires meaningful equality.
- A small part of the conservative community that has no plausible or legitimate reason to keep its return out of reach, which also penalises them
- Developers stuck in the future of the game because of their own ‘marketing promises’ considered contractual by some players
- A trailer (The Old Peace) that inspires a kind of fleeting hope
- An incentive to illegally purchase a ‘founders’ account on the market as the only way out
Ultimately, Excalibur Prime ended up doing more harm than good.
Today, a ‘New Peace’ is needed !
SOLUTIONS
Yes, there is only one possible solution today, and it will always be the same :
1- The reissue of Excalibur Prime, quite simply
It is possible to republish in many ways for DE as long as the announcement is well done !
2-A second founding programme which :
- If you are already a founder, you unlock visual improvements for certain items that are old and lack the game’s new technology (alternative skis, improved sigils, etc.).
- If you are not a founder, you will have access to these items, including Excalibur Prime.
- Presented in the same form and at the same price, thus preserving the value of the initial investment.
- A nice marketing quote, as the studio is good at doing when it comes to the future of the game.
This solution, or another solution in which Excalibur Prime clearly returns, is, in my opinion, THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION, addressing all the crucial and indisputable points of the legitimate debates among today’s players.
A tribute should not mean exclusion. As a committed and passionate player, I invite you to reconsider how you honour the past without neglecting the present. Because yes, if the game is still here, it’s not just because there were founders, but because we ALL play and we ALL invest in it.
Thank you to the Warframe studio for their work, and I hope this message contributes to healthy and constructive reflection.
Zdalton
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