Digital Extremes Puts Soulframe Preludes in Community Hands, as Its Early Alpha Playtest Opens November 6 to All PC Players and Adds Rideable Wolves

Today, Digital Extremes announced the imminent opening of its early Alpha playtest of Soulframe Preludes to all PC players. Next week, the Canadian developer is removing the invitation requirement for its in-development fantasy action RPG, so everyone can get in starting Friday, November 6.

The announcement goes alongside the unveiling of Preludes 17: Verse of the Veilands, a major update introducing rideable wolf mounts and a reworked progression structure built around reclaiming corrupted regions. During a press preview attended by Wccftech, the developers also addressed my question about expanding group activities and making it easier to experience the game cooperatively.

Open Preludes is not Soulframe's finished release, nor does it mark a Steam or console launch. Players will still access the game through its own PC launcher, available from Soulframe's website. The Founders program will remain active, but purchasing access will no longer be necessary to join the ongoing test.

Digital Extremes on Group Activities and Matchmaking

With Soulframe opening to a wider audience, I asked whether Digital Extremes plans to increase its MMO-like elements, particularly group activities, over time. Lead Designer Scott McGregor and Creative Director Geoff Crookes emphasized that cooperative play is fundamental to the game, with matchmaking improvements in development:

Yeah, I think one of the focuses is matchmaking and getting players together. We added the world trees that you could—it was like a hub, so players could discover each other there.

I believe they were working on matchmaking going into dungeons and different Votives as well. I’m not sure if that’s going to make it into this update, but getting players into groups and experiencing the game through co-op is a big, important part of the development of the game. It is a co-op game. It’s designed to be that way.

So making it easier for players to make those groups, even in a public matchmaking sense, is important, definitely will be a focus in either this update or the coming updates, if there’s not some stuff that leaks in. Because there’s stuff always in progress, right? So it could be the following update that we have a bigger push to get players playing it more co-op.

That is a commitment to improving matchmaking, rather than confirmation of raids or a similar category of content dedicated specifically to player groups. The developers also stopped short of guaranteeing that dungeon and Votive matchmaking would arrive in Preludes 17. However, their answer at least makes clear that bringing players together through public matchmaking is a near-term priority, not just a distant ambition.

Reclaiming the World Gives Players a Clearer Purpose

Verse of the Veilands also changes how players progress through the land of Midrath. Following the Torment Stag encounter, Envoys will begin reclaiming regions affected by Ode'n corruption. Siphons drain energy from the land, leaving areas harsher and disrupting wildlife, resources, and activities. Players complete Votives (the game's missions) and work with local enclave representatives to build energy, learn a region's sacred song, and cleanse its siphon.

Restoration has practical consequences beyond making the landscape more welcoming: wildlife and activities such as fishing and seasonal events return, while healed regions offer different loot and resources. The developers described this as reinforcing the player's role as a healer and giving permanence to their actions in the world.

The Votive system has also been reworked to address feedback from players who enjoyed the opening quests but subsequently struggled to understand what to do next. After meeting the relevant enclave representative, missions can be accepted from the world map, making activities and progression easier to follow. Additional writing and voice acting will give those representatives a more integrated role in the adventure.

Wolf Mounts, a New Pact, and Seasonal Content

Players who have been raising wolf pups will finally be able to mature them into rideable Omen Wolves. Doing so requires progressing through the Veilands to obtain the Barn Biscuit recipe, then preparing it with Verminia. Growing the pup is a choice, rather than an automatic transformation. Other planned additions include Ode Shrike, a hunter/poacher-inspired Pact focused on traps and deception, new weapons and armor, enemy variants, fish, and cave generation updates. The returning seasonal event will also bring new rewards.

Ultimately, the big news of this Soulframe update is that the barrier to participation is going away: anyone on PC can now join the development journey, while the team continues to refine progression, combat, and cooperative play based on player feedback. There's still no ETA on a full release, though, nor any word on console ports.

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