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

Since its release last week, *Doom: The Dark Ages* has attracted 3 million players, marking the largest launch in id Software's history by player count. Bethesda has yet to release official sales figures for the game, but a social media post highlighted that it reached 3 million players seven times faster than *Doom Eternal* did in 2020.

*Doom: The Dark Ages* launched on May 15, 2025, across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. For a closer look at the numbers, let's consider Steam, the only platform that publicly shares player data. On Steam, *Doom: The Dark Ages* achieved a peak concurrent player count of 31,470, with a 24-hour peak of 16,328 players. In comparison, *Doom Eternal* reached a peak of 104,891 players, and the 2016 *Doom* hit a peak of 44,271 players. These figures suggest that *Doom: The Dark Ages* may have underperformed on Steam relative to its predecessors.

However, it's crucial to consider the impact of Game Pass. *Doom: The Dark Ages* was available from day one on Game Pass for both Xbox consoles and PC. This likely led many players to try the game through a subscription rather than purchasing it outright at its $69.99 price point in the U.S. From Microsoft's perspective, this could be seen as a success, as it promotes Game Pass subscriptions. Other games, like *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, have shown that strong sales can coexist with a Game Pass launch, having sold 2 million copies despite also being available on the service. The higher price of *Doom: The Dark Ages* might have influenced some potential buyers to opt for the subscription model instead.

Bethesda's choice to announce player counts rather than sales figures is notable. This approach was also used for *The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered*, which reported 4 million players after launching on Game Pass. Similarly, Ubisoft announced 3 million players for *Assassin's Creed: Shadows* without disclosing sales numbers. Only Bethesda and Microsoft have access to the internal targets set for *Doom: The Dark Ages*, but the 3 million player count indicates strong performance on consoles and through Game Pass, even if the game's reception on Steam was less robust.

IGN's review of *Doom: The Dark Ages* gave it a 9/10, praising its shift from the mobility-focused gameplay of *Doom Eternal* to a more weighty and powerful style that remains deeply satisfying.