IGN can exclusively reveal that Dark Sector, the 2008 third-person shooter from Warframe developer Digital Extremes, is now available for free on Steam for the next 72 hours in celebration of the upcoming free expansion Warframe: 1999, which is scheduled for release in December 2024.
Apart from a miniature number of regions such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Steam users can go there Dark Sector Steam Page and download the game now, skipping its current price of $9.99.
For those unfamiliar, Dark Sector puts you in the shoes of Hayden Tenno, a secret agent who must invade the fictional Eastern European city of Lasria, which holds a very perilous Cold War secret. During his mission, he is infected with the Technocyte virus, which turns him into a killing machine with powers and a deadly glaive that he must employ to save everything.
In our Dark Sector review we said: “Fun in the Dark Sector. We hear the guards screaming for aid right before they get hit in the face with a glaive, marching around in this Jackal tank that looks like Metal Gear, launching bad guys into the air and wielding a tricked out gun. -out shotgun makes the experience something any action fan can get behind. However, when the really similar levels and waves of enemies become too repetitive towards the end of the game, Dark Sector’s frail plot may not be so. enough to get the more fickle fan across the finish line. It’s fun, but not perfect.
As for Dark Sector’s connection to Warframe: 1999, the expansion will take players one year before Y2K and to a retro European-style Höllvania town that has turned into Arthur Nightingale. It’s obviously a far cry from the space setting Warframe fans are used to, but it should be exhilarating.
I’m talking to VG247, original director Rebecca Ford said that Dark Sector was definitely the inspiration for this expansion, and the team sought out the game for its tone and a city that felt European.
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and beyond TikTok.
