Since its release last week, Doom: The Dark Ages has reached an impressive milestone of 3 million players, marking it as the largest launch in id Software’s history by player count. This achievement was confirmed by Bethesda through a social media post, highlighting that the game achieved this figure seven times faster than its predecessor, Doom Eternal, did in 2020.
Released on May 15, 2025, across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, the game’s player numbers are publicly visible only on Steam. On this platform, Doom: The Dark Ages peaked at 31,470 concurrent players, with a 24-hour peak of 16,328. Comparatively, Doom Eternal had a peak of 104,891 concurrent players, while Doom from 2016 hit 44,271. However, these numbers need to be viewed in light of the Game Pass factor, as the game launched simultaneously on Xbox consoles and PC via Game Pass. This means many players may have tried the game through a subscription service rather than purchasing it outright for $69.99 in the U.S.
From Microsoft’s perspective, this could align with their goal of boosting subscriptions for PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. It’s worth noting that other games, like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, managed impressive sales figures even after launching on Game Pass, suggesting that price might have impacted Doom: The Dark Ages’ overall sales.
Bethesda hasn’t disclosed exact sales figures for Doom: The Dark Ages. Instead, they celebrated the player count, similar to their approach with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Ubisoft’s announcement for Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. While the exact sales target remains undisclosed, the 3 million player count indicates strong performance on console and Game Pass, possibly with mixed results on Steam.
IGN’s review awarded the game a 9/10, praising its weighty and powerful gameplay style, distinct from previous entries in the series yet equally satisfying.
