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, yet Bethesda has not disclosed specific sales figures for the game. A social media post from Bethesda highlighted that *Doom: The Dark Ages* has achieved the largest player count at launch in id Software's history, reaching 3 million players seven times quicker than *Doom Eternal* did in 2020.

To better understand these numbers, it's essential to consider the platforms on which *Doom: The Dark Ages* was launched. The game became available on May 15, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. Steam, being the only platform to publicly share player counts, shows that *Doom: The Dark Ages* reached a peak concurrent player count of 31,470, with a 24-hour peak of 16,328 players. In comparison, *Doom Eternal* peaked at 104,891 concurrent players five years ago, suggesting a relatively lower performance for *The Dark Ages* on Steam. For additional context, the 2016 *Doom* game set a peak concurrent player count of 44,271 on Steam nine years ago.

It's important to factor in the influence of Game Pass on these figures. *Doom: The Dark Ages* was launched day-one on Game Pass for both Xbox consoles and PC, which likely drew many players who opted for the subscription service rather than purchasing the game outright for $69.99 in the U.S. From Microsoft's perspective, this approach could be beneficial as it aims to boost subscriptions for PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. However, other games like *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, which also launched on Game Pass, sold 2 million copies at a lower price point of $50, indicating that pricing might affect sales for *Doom: The Dark Ages*.

Bethesda's announcement of 3 million players without disclosing sales figures follows a similar strategy used for *The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered*, which also launched day-one on Game Pass and reported 4 million players. Interestingly, Ubisoft took a similar approach with *Assassin’s Creed: Shadows*, announcing 3 million players but no hard sales data.

Ultimately, only Bethesda and Microsoft have insight into whether *Doom: The Dark Ages* has met its internal targets. However, the significant player count suggests that the game has performed well on consoles and through Game Pass, while possibly underperforming on Steam.

IGN's review of *Doom: The Dark Ages* awarded it a 9/10, stating, "*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."