Demons May Cry: Leaks about the development of a new Doom game have circulated for years. The latest, unconfirmed rumors suggest a potential reveal date during the upcoming Xbox showcase.
Developer id Software and publisher Bethesda Softworks have been busy working on a new game in the Doom franchise for at least four years. This upcoming first-person shooter is expected to be introduced during the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9. A prolific leaker has revealed that the game will be called Doom: The Dark Ages and will transport the Doom Slayer back in time, diverging from the gothic sci-fi settings of the latest installments in the series.
Leaker Tom Henderson recently mentioned that the game was previously known as Doom Year Zero, but “Doom: The Dark Ages” is expected to be its final name. FPS specialists at id Software started development of The Dark Ages in 2020, shortly after releasing the hyper-kinetic (and hyper-brutal) Doom Eternal on consoles and Windows systems.
Also see: Ripping and Tearing: 3 Decades of Doom
Unnamed sources have described The Dark Ages as a “medieval-inspired” Doom world, which aligns with previous snippets of information about id Software’s plans to evolve the series. Microsoft, which now owns Bethesda and the Doom franchise, among others, has stated that the Xbox Games Showcase will reveal new games and updates on the Call of Duty franchise.
While Doom hasn’t matched the immense popularity of the Call of Duty series in recent years, it remains one of the most profitable brands in the gaming market. Henderson highlighted that an id Software developer claimed in 2020 that Doom Eternal generated over $450 million in revenue for id and Bethesda that year alone.
New, unconfirmed leaks about a new game in the Doom universe recently surfaced online, starting with the IDKFA trademark registered by Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media (owned by Microsoft since 2021). A potential Doom-themed reveal during the Xbox Games Showcase was teased earlier this month, and Henderson has now independently verified this rumor.
Doom is one of the most storied game franchises ever, with id Software enticing and entertaining fans of the FPS genre (including this humble demon-killing writer) since the early Nineties. Doom Eternal, the latest game in the series, introduced significant innovations in gameplay and visual fidelity thanks to the powerful id Tech 7 game engine.