Despite all the hype and marketing behind DOOM: The Dark Ages, on Steam at least, it appears the newest release isn’t resonating with fans as much as previous releases, as DOOM’s player count numbers aren’t amazing.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a bold release for multiple reasons: It’s a prequel, providing plenty of much-requested lore and exposition, you can now pilot the giant Atlan mech, and ride a dragon. It moves away from DOOM: Eternal’s aerial-focused gameplay and introduces the Saw Shield for parrying and blocking. However, early Steam numbers show the new changes might not be for everyone.
DOOM: The Dark Ages Lagging Behind, According to Steam
As of writing, SteamDB has DOOM: The Dark Ages‘ player count has an all-time peak of 31,470, whereas DOOM (2016) stands at 44,271, and DOOM: Eternal eclipses all with 104,891.
The Dark Ages hasn’t been out long, but the first weekend for a new game is usually one of the strongest—especially for a single-player game—as people watch the game online or are keen to jump in for a new release.
It’s been the case for the first two DOOM games as their peak traffic has dropped off significantly by the second week, meaning DOOM: The Dark Ages has likely had its peak period.
Now, DOOM’s player count numbers don’t take into account the Xbox Game Pass numbers. The Dark Ages has been free for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. There could be plenty of players who’ve played it on Xbox and through Microsoft, so we’ll have to wait and initial reports from Microsoft and Bethesda for more accurate player count figures.
Why do you think DOOM: The Dark Ages isn’t quite hitting as hard as previous DOOM titles? Has Bethesda changed too much? Let us know through the Insider Gaming forum.
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