This winter the sci-fi MMO Warframe will be receiving its huge 1999 update, and over the weekend it was revealed that the update would include the introduction of a romance system. To make things even better, one of the characters you will be able to romance in 1999 is Arthur, voiced by Final Fantasy XVI star and internet fave (pun not intended) Ben Starr. And it turns out that horny Warframe fans excited about what they’ll be able to do with this new romance system have Baldur’s Gate 3 to thank.
In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Warframe creative director Rebecca Ford revealed that Baldur’s Gate 3’s incredible romance system and the fan reaction to it was the major inspiration behind romance finally coming to Warframe. I say finally because Ford also revealed that the team has “always wanted to put some type of romance system,” into the game but could never find the right time to do it in its 11-year history. “The success of Baldur’s Gate and their romance system was like, ‘okay, like, people do want this fantasy’,” Ford said. And while the team had been thinking of romance for some time, Ford said Larian’s masterful RPG was “the push over the cliff,” to get the team to finally pull the trigger.
Romance isn’t the only part of 1999 that will borrow from Baldur’s Gate 3. The Warframe update will also include the voice talents of Amelia Tyler, the award-nominated narrator of Larian’s RPG, as Eleanor. As part of Arthur’s group called Hex, Eleanor will be another romanceable NPC. Tyler won’t be the first Baldur’s Gate 3 voice in Warframe, as Astarion actor Neil Newbon previously appeared in last years’ Whisper in the Walls update. Hopefully we will see Newbon’s character, Fibonacci, return for 1999 so we can romance him as well.
Warframe isn’t the only MMO with romance on its mind—Final Fantasy XIV recently flirted with the idea, as well. During the recent Japan Expo, in response to a fan question, game directorNaoki Yoshida said the team might consider letting players get “more involved” with NPCs at some point. It looks like a bright future for all of us hoping to romance our favorite characters, and we all owe it to Baldur’s Gate 3.
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