DOOM: The Dark Ages Debuts with 3 Million Players, id Software's Largest Launch

DOOM: The Dark Ages is Out Now!

Biggest Launch in id Software’s History

DOOM: The Dark Ages has made a monumental impact upon its release last week, receiving widespread acclaim and high praise from various review sites. In an exciting announcement via a Twitter (X) post by Bethesda on May 21, the game has soared to over 3 million players, marking it as the most successful launch in id Software's history.

The post highlighted that this milestone was achieved 7 times faster than their previous title, DOOM: Eternal. However, it's worth noting that these numbers differ from Superdata's 2020 claim that DOOM: Eternal reached 3 million players within 10 days of its release. It's important to recognize that these figures were estimates, and Bethesda has not made any official statements on this matter.

When comparing the player numbers of both titles, context is key. At the time of DOOM: Eternal's launch, Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media, had not yet been acquired by Microsoft, meaning DOOM: Eternal was not available on Xbox Game Pass at launch.

In contrast, DOOM: The Dark Ages was released day one on PC Game Pass, which likely influenced its performance on Steam. According to SteamDB's data, DOOM: The Dark Ages reached an all-time peak of 31,470 players, a figure significantly lower than DOOM: Eternal's launch peak of 104,891 players. Analyst firm Ampere estimates that 2 million of DOOM: The Dark Ages' players come from Xbox.

Despite these numbers, fans are celebrating DOOM: The Dark Ages as one of the finest entries in the franchise. Here at Game8, we awarded it an impressive 88 out of 100, praising its brutal renaissance of the DOOM series. The game trades the aerial acrobatics of DOOM (2016) and Eternal for a more grounded, gritty combat experience. For a deeper dive into our thoughts on the game, be sure to check out our detailed article below!