Summary
The recently releasedDoom: The Dark Agesis massively struggling on Steam compared to the peaks reached by its predecessor,Doom Eternal. Despite a massively reduced player count forDoom: The Dark Ages, it appears there’s a good reason why fewer players are hopping into the game on Steam.
Doom: The Dark Agesrecently 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 originalDoom, it’s great to see the developer still reinventing the wheel after all this time.
As reported byThe Gamer, the Steam numbers forDoom: The Dark Agesat this early point are very low when compared to the peak ofDoom Eternal, which launched five years ago to an all-time high concurrent player count of 104,891. It’s worth noting thatDoom Eternallaunched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when player counts for many games rose substantially. Comparatively, the all-time peak ofDoom: The Dark Agessits at 30,812, a considerable drop-off from thepreviousDoomgame.
Doom: The Dark Ages' Steam Numbers Are Low Compared to Eternal’s Peak
It’s not all doom and gloom, though.Doom: The Dark Ageslaunched on Xbox Game Pass on release day, which wasn’t possible forDoom Eternalas 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 toDoom: The Dark Ages' player count taking a considerable hit this time around.
As players continue tobeatDoom: 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 ofDoom: 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.
