id Software began work on their next game following the completion of Doom Eternal's post-launch campaign The Ancient Gods in 2021, entering full production by August 2022. News about the game was first leaked in September 2023, ahead of its official announcement in June 2024.[1]
Doom: The Dark Ages explores the rise of the series' protagonist, the Doom Slayer, as he becomes the last hope of a kingdom fighting against the forces of Hell.
Following the release of Doom Eternal's second downloadable content (DLC) campaign The Ancient Gods - Part 2 in March 2021, creative director Hugo Martin teased that he was open to exploring more stories with the series protagonist Doom Slayer in future games, despite intending for The Ancient Gods to act as a culmination for the character's arc that began with Doom (2016).[2] One possibility he expressed was telling a narrative around the Slayer's first encounter with the Night Sentinels on Argent D'Nur, in a setting that was more rooted in fantasy aesthetics compared to previous games.[3] By November 2021, id Software had begun pre-production on a new action first-person shooter game.[4] During QuakeCon 2022, executive producer Marty Stratton confirmed that the developer had begun production on their next project.[5]
In September 2023, numerous documents submitted by ZeniMax Media parent company Microsoft during the FTC v. Microsoft court case concerning their impending acquisition of Activision-Blizzard were leaked online.[1] Included was an internal roadmap concerning multiple Bethesda Softworks titles in development.[6] A new Doom entry titled Doom: Year Zero was listed as slated for release during Bethesda's 2023 fiscal year ending March 2024 at that time, with two sets of downloadable content (DLC) tentatively dated for the 2023 fiscal year and the 2024 fiscal year ending March 2025, respectively.[6][7]
In May 2024, ZeniMax Media filed a trademark referencing the Doom (1993) cheat code "IDKFA", used to give the player all keys and every weapon in the game with full ammo.[8] Later that month, numerous outlets reported the game as being officially titled Doom: The Dark Ages, which was speculated to be a prequel to Doom (2016), taking place in a dark fantasy setting reminiscent of the Middle Ages and exploring an earlier period in the life of the Doom Slayer.[9]
In September 2020 following Doom Eternal's launch, Microsoft entered an agreement to acquire Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion, gaining ownership over all of Bethesda's associated development teams and franchises, including id Software and the Doom license, now as part of Microsoft Gaming.[10]Doom: The Dark Ages was officially announced at Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase event on June 9, 2024, where it was confirmed for release on Windows and Xbox Series X/S in 2025.[11][12] Following the presentation, a PlayStation 5 version was announced as launching day and date with the other platforms.[13] On the decision to not pursue exclusivity on the title, Phil Spencer explained that the Doom series' history on other platforms made it a series he felt "everyone deserves to play."[14]
Video games
