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

Doom: The Dark Ages has captivated 3 million players since its launch last week, yet Bethesda has not disclosed specific sales figures for the game. A social media update from Bethesda proudly declared that Doom: The Dark Ages marks the largest launch in id Software's history by player count, reaching 3 million players seven times quicker than Doom Eternal did in 2020.

It's essential to delve deeper into these impressive numbers. Doom: The Dark Ages was released on May 15, 2025, across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. Since Steam provides public player data, it's a good starting point for analysis. On Steam, Doom: The Dark Ages achieved a peak concurrent player count of 31,470, with a 24-hour peak of 16,328 concurrent players. In contrast, Doom Eternal's peak concurrent player count was 104,891 five years ago, suggesting that The Dark Ages may have underperformed relatively on Valve's platform. For additional context, the 2016 Doom reached a peak concurrent player count of 44,271 on Steam, set nine years ago.

However, the influence of Game Pass must be considered when evaluating these figures. Doom: The Dark Ages was available on Game Pass from day one for both Xbox consoles and PC, likely attracting many players who opted for the subscription service over purchasing the game at its full price of $69.99 in the U.S. From Microsoft's perspective, this could be seen as a success, as it promotes PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions. Yet, we've seen other titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which sold 2 million copies despite also launching on Game Pass, indicating that a game's price point can influence sales.

Bethesda has only announced the player count for Doom: The Dark Ages, not its sales figures. This approach mirrors their celebration of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, which saw 4 million players while also launching on Game Pass. Similarly, Ubisoft announced 3 million players for Assassin's Creed: Shadows, focusing on player engagement rather than sales.

Ultimately, only Bethesda and Microsoft know if Doom: The Dark Ages has met its internal targets. Nonetheless, the 3 million player milestone suggests strong performance on consoles and Game Pass, even if the game may have faced challenges on Steam.

IGN's review of Doom: The Dark Ages awarded it a 9/10, praising the game for its unique and powerful gameplay style: "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."