New “Medieval-Inspired” Doom Game Will Be Announced Next Month

According to a new report, it seems like the next big Doom game from Id Software and Bethesda will be announced soon. But it sounds like this next entry in the popular FPS franchise won’t be a traditional sequel, but instead, possibly a prequel showing the origins of the series’ main character, the Doomslayer.

On May 24, Insider Gaming reported that it had learned the next game in the Doom franchise was planned to be revealed at the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase on June 9.

This is the same Doom game that has been previously rumored to exist under the codename “Year Zero.” According to the new report, the final name is Doom: The Dark Ages, and it’s been in development for at least four years.

Insider Gaming says that last year it heard “early details” about the still-unconfirmed game and was told that it’s set in a “medieval-inspired Doom world.” The outlet suggests that the previous codename of “Year Zero” and the “Dark Ages” title, along with the mention of medieval inspiration, could point to this next entry being more of a prequel or origins story for Doomslayer aka Doomguy. That sounds reasonable to me and sounds like a fun way to keep the series fresh and different.

Last month, some people interpreted a small tease from Microsoft reporter Tom Warren as an indication that a new Doom game was in the works and would be announced by Xbox during its June showcase.

A new Doom being announced seems pretty likely as Doom Eternal was released four years ago and it’s one of Bethesda’s biggest franchises. So no shocker that one might be in the works. The real question I’m curious about is where this reported Doom: The Dark Ages prequel might land. Will this be an Xbox and PC-only release, like Starfield? Or will Microsoft continue its multiplatform efforts and bring the next big Doom sequel to PlayStation 5, too? It seems we’ll find out in June.

Update: 05/24/2024, 5:30 p.m. ET: On Friday, podcaster and insider Nate The Hate additionally reported that Doom: The Dark Ages will in fact launch on PS5.

The game will still come to Xbox Game Pass, too. But it sounds like Bethesda’s next Doom game will be a multiplatform release, like previous entries.

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