A lot of gameplay of Doom: The Dark Ages in developer videos — the game will be released simultaneously on major platforms and Game Pass

At the Microsoft Xbox Developer Direct 2025 presentation, id Software showcased gameplay for Doom: The Dark Ages and announced its multi-platform launch in May 2025.

The new Doom features only a single-player campaign. As a reminder, Doom 2016 and its sequel, Doom Eternal 2020, had multiplayer online modes.

In a conversation with the press before the announcement, executive producer Marty Stratton and game director Hugo Martin explained that the decision to create only a solo mode was made early on, so that id Software could fully focus on the campaign.

“We made this decision at an early stage so that we could simply go all-in. This is our biggest, most ambitious, most epic campaign ever, and we are very pleased with the decision. I think it was great that the team focused only on refining and finishing the campaign,” says Stratton.

Hugo Martin added that thanks to the decision to abandon multiplayer games, id Software was able to include features in the campaign that they otherwise could not. These include sections where you can ride a fire-breathing dragon and control 30-story Atlan mechs.

“That’s why we were able to include the dragon and Atlan. I mean, we wanted to do this in several games, but couldn’t because we had a multiplayer component that we liked, but really we aimed to focus only on the solo campaign and enhance this experience for players”.

The decision to simultaneously launch Doom: The Dark Ages on Xbox and PlayStation, rather than delaying the launch as in the case with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, was confirmed at the Xbox Showcase in 2024. Then Xbox head Phil Spencer said:

“Doom is undoubtedly one of those franchises that has a history of a large number of platforms… I believe that everyone deserves this franchise. When I met with [Marty Stratton] a couple of years ago, I asked Marty what he wanted to do, and he said he wanted to sell it on all platforms”.

Doom: The Dark Ages will be released on May 15 on Xbox Series X, PC, and PlayStation 5, and will also be available on Game Pass from day one. The Collector’s Bundle edition includes up to two days of early access. There is no confirmation yet of its release on Nintendo Switch 2, for which Microsoft is preparing many games. Pre-orders for the game are open on Steam for 2449₴.

Sources: IGN, GamesRadar