Today’s Xbox Developer Direct had a nice surprise announcement with Ninja Gaiden 4, but we also received confirmation that the next entry in the DOOM franchise, DOOM: The Dark Ages, is launching on May 15, 2025. The id Software team is calling it the most ambitious DOOM game to date and will serve as a prequel to 2016’s DOOM and DOOM Eternal. With today’s release date announcement, the team also shared a gameplay sizzle reel showcasing the core pillars of DOOM: The Dark Ages: Combat, Exploration, and Story. As the game’s name suggests, DOOM: The Dark Ages takes place in a dark fantasy/sci-fi world with a hellish twist.
Starting with combat, DOOM: The Dark Ages brings devastating melee abilities and the return of strafing. The team explains it this way: In DOOM Eternal, you felt like a fighter jet, but in DOOM: The Dark Ages, you will be an iron tank, ready to stand and fight. Players can expect a loadout of new melee weapons, as well as a new melee skill tree to get up close and personal for serious damage. The show introduces the Shield Saw, and also showed a spiked flail, an electric gauntlet, and a spiked mace.
Of course there’s plenty of guns since DOOM is about shooting demons in the face. The double-barrel shotgun makes a return, a trademark since DOOM II. DOOM: The Dark Ages will also let players pilot their own gigantic Atlan, a gargantuan mech to take on demons the size of a building. Expect some truly epic battles on a new scale. Leaning more into the fantasy theme, DOOM: The Dark Ages also has a giant cybernetic dragon with mounted gatling guns as a new weapon.
When it comes to exploration, the latest entry looks to explore the mysterious world from the Slayer’s past, packed with dark forests and towering structures, dangerous dungeons, and ancient battlefields. The team focused on creating a world that offers a level of freedom rarely found in a DOOM game. The levels are less linear and players will have the choice over which areas to explore and which objectives to pursue. They’re going so far as to say it’s a DOOM sandbox with the biggest player space ever seen in DOOM.
Although most people who have followed the DOOM series don’t play it for the story, the id team did invest in narrative in DOOM: The Dark Ages. The goal is to make the story and lore more approachable while delivering deep story beats from the codex along with cutscenes for maximum impact. Although the main plot of the game is being kept a secret, as it should, expect to meet new characters as well as old allies and new villains in DOOM: The Dark Ages. The story will lead directly into 2016’s DOOM.
DOOM: The Dark Ages will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC when it launches on May 15. It will also be available day one with Game Pass. It’s one of our most anticipated games of 2025.
