DOOM: The Dark Ages Hits 3 Million Players at Launch, id Software's Biggest Ever

DOOM: The Dark Ages is Out Now!

Biggest Launch in id Software’s History

DOOM: The Dark Ages has stormed onto the scene, marking id Software's biggest launch ever with an impressive 3 million players. Released just last week, the game has been met with widespread acclaim and high scores from various review platforms. Bethesda announced this monumental achievement via a post on Twitter (X) on May 21, highlighting that DOOM: The Dark Ages reached this player count 7 times faster than its predecessor, DOOM: Eternal.

However, it's worth noting that there's some debate over these figures. Superdata reported in 2020 that DOOM: Eternal hit the 3 million player mark within just 10 days of its release. These were estimates, and Bethesda has never officially confirmed those numbers. When comparing the two games, it's essential to consider broader contexts. At the time of DOOM: Eternal's release, ZeniMax Media, Bethesda's parent company, had not yet been acquired by Microsoft, meaning the game was not available on Xbox Game Pass at launch.

In contrast, DOOM: The Dark Ages was available on PC Game Pass from day one, which influenced its player numbers on Steam. According to SteamDB, the game's all-time peak on Steam reached 31,470 players, significantly lower than DOOM: Eternal's launch peak of 104,891. Analyst firm Ampere estimates that 2 million of DOOM: The Dark Ages' players came from Xbox.

Despite these numbers, fans and critics alike are celebrating DOOM: The Dark Ages as one of the finest entries in the franchise. Here at Game8, we awarded it an impressive score of 88 out of 100. We praised its brutal revival of the DOOM series, which shifts away from the aerial dynamics of DOOM (2016) and Eternal to a more grounded, gritty combat experience. For a deeper dive into our review, be sure to check out our detailed article below!