Doom: The Dark Ages Marks id's Largest Launch Ever, No Sales Data Released Yet

Since its release last week, *Doom: The Dark Ages* has attracted a staggering 3 million players, marking it as the largest launch by player count in id Software's history. Bethesda proudly announced that this milestone was achieved seven times faster than *Doom Eternal* did in 2020. The game, which hit the shelves on May 15, 2025, is available across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.

Delving into the specifics, on Steam, *Doom: The Dark Ages* reached a peak concurrent player count of 31,470, with a 24-hour peak of 16,328. This is notably lower than *Doom Eternal*'s peak of 104,891, and even the 2016 *Doom* game's peak of 44,271. However, these numbers don't tell the whole story due to the influence of Game Pass. *Doom: The Dark Ages* was available on day one for both Xbox and PC Game Pass subscribers, potentially drawing in players who opted for the subscription service rather than purchasing the game outright at its $69.99 price tag in the U.S.

From Microsoft's perspective, this strategy might be seen as a success, as it promotes their Game Pass subscription model. Yet, other games like *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, which also launched on Game Pass, managed to sell 2 million copies despite its lower $50 price point. This raises questions about whether the higher price of *Doom: The Dark Ages* might have deterred some potential buyers.

Interestingly, Bethesda has only disclosed player numbers and not sales figures for *Doom: The Dark Ages*, a tactic also used for *The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered*, which saw 4 million players. Similarly, Ubisoft reported 3 million players for *Assassin’s Creed: Shadows* without revealing sales data. Only Bethesda and Microsoft truly know if *Doom: The Dark Ages* met its internal targets, but the high player count suggests strong performance on consoles and Game Pass, despite a relatively weaker showing on Steam.

IGN's review of *Doom: The Dark Ages* awarded it a 9/10, praising its departure from the mobility-focused gameplay of *Doom Eternal*. The review highlighted its "weighty and powerful style of play" as a fresh and immensely satisfying evolution for the series.