Doom: The Dark Ages Marks id's Biggest Launch Ever, Sales Figures Pending

Since its release last week, *Doom: The Dark Ages* has attracted an impressive 3 million players, marking the biggest launch in id Software’s history by player count. Bethesda's social media post highlighted that this milestone was reached seven times faster than *Doom Eternal* in 2020, showcasing the game's rapid adoption. Released on May 15, 2025, across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, *Doom: The Dark Ages* has sparked significant interest among gamers.

When examining the player numbers on Steam, *Doom: The Dark Ages* achieved a peak concurrent player count of 31,470, with a 24-hour peak at 16,328. Comparatively, *Doom Eternal* saw a much higher peak of 104,891 five years ago, and *Doom* from 2016 reached 44,271. These figures suggest that *Doom: The Dark Ages* may have faced challenges in capturing the same level of engagement on Valve's platform.

However, the impact of Game Pass cannot be overlooked. *Doom: The Dark Ages* launched day-one on Game Pass for both Xbox consoles and PC, likely drawing a significant portion of its player base from this service. This approach aligns with Microsoft's strategy to boost Game Pass subscriptions. While some games, like *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, have managed strong sales alongside a Game Pass release, the higher price point of *Doom: The Dark Ages* at $69.99 might have influenced purchasing decisions.

Interestingly, Bethesda has chosen to announce player counts rather than sales figures for *Doom: The Dark Ages*, a tactic also used for *The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered* and by Ubisoft for *Assassin’s Creed: Shadows*. This method leaves the true commercial success of the game known only to Bethesda and Microsoft. Nonetheless, the 3 million player count indicates strong performance on consoles and Game Pass, despite the game's relative struggle on Steam.

IGN's review of *Doom: The Dark Ages* awarded it a 9/10, praising its shift from the mobility-focused gameplay of *Doom Eternal* to a more weighty and powerful style. The review noted, "Doom: The Dark Ages may strip away the mobility focus of Doom Eternal, but replaces it with a very weighty and powerful style of play that is different from anything the series has done before, and still immensely satisfying in its own way."