Summary
- Doom: The Dark Ages has lower player numbers on Steam compared to Doom Eternal due to its launch on Xbox Game Pass.
- Despite lower player counts, Doom: The Dark Ages received a strong critical reception, scoring 87 on OpenCritic.
The recently released Doom: The Dark Ages is massively struggling on Steam compared to the peaks reached by its predecessor, Doom Eternal. Despite a massively reduced player count for Doom: The Dark Ages, it appears there's a good reason why fewer players are hopping into the game on Steam.
Doom: The Dark Ages recently launched to strong critical reception, currently holding an excellent score of 87 on review aggregator site OpenCritic. The modern reboot of the long-running FPS series has been a roaring success over the last decade, with each entry offering something unique to stand out from the games before. Over three decades after id Software changed the first-person shooter genre for good with the original Doom, it's great to see the developer still reinventing the wheel after all this time.
The Pros and Cons of Doom: The Dark Ages' Glory Kill Changes
Doom: The Dark Ages makes a variety of changes to the franchise, with one of the most notable being its approach to Glory Kills.
As reported by The Gamer, the Steam numbers for Doom: The Dark Ages at this early point are very low when compared to the peak of Doom Eternal, which launched five years ago to an all-time high concurrent player count of 104,891. It's worth noting that Doom Eternal launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when player counts for many games rose substantially. Comparatively, the all-time peak of Doom: The Dark Ages sits at 30,812, a considerable drop-off from the previous Doom game.
Doom: The Dark Ages' Steam Numbers Are Low Compared to Eternal's Peak
It's not all doom and gloom, though. Doom: The Dark Ages launched on Xbox Game Pass on release day, which wasn't possible for Doom Eternal as Microsoft did not yet own Bethesda. Players having access to the subscription service and choosing to simply play it there instead of on Steam makes a lot of sense, and is likely a massive contributor to Doom: The Dark Ages' player count taking a considerable hit this time around.
As players continue to beat Doom: The Dark Ages, the question will inevitably become what the future holds for the franchise. Developer id Software hasn't confirmed when DLC for the game will be released, but access to campaign DLC is a part of Doom: The Dark Ages' Premium Edition, so it's safe to say it's on the way. Fans will have to remain patient until the studio has something official to confirm.
DOOM: The Dark Ages
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 86 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- May 15, 2025
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
- id Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda Softworks
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- id Tech
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
