DOOM: The Dark Ages is finally out and its opening weekend is now behind us. The anticipated new franchise installment from id Software was quick to hit #1 on Steam’s Top Sellers chart but the player count on the platform has many people wondering what is happening. Released May 15th, DOOM: The Dark Ages’ release day saw it peak at 30,232 players on Steam and increase to 31,470 during its launch weekend. However, these figures make DOOM: The Dark Ages’ debut the weakest one of the modern DOOM series from id Software.
DOOM: The Dark Ages attracted only 30% of DOOM Eternal which peaked at 104,891 Steam players on its opening day March 20, 2020. But it is also interesting to note that, when looking at DOOM 2016’s statistics, its Steam player numbers peaked at 44,271 when it was released May 13, 2016.
When it comes to Steam Achievements, 86.2% of Steam players unlocked A Dark Beginning and 13.2% have already completed the game as of May 19th. XBOX figures show 100% of players unlocking the first achievement, but only 4% having completed the game.
Speculation as to DOOM: The Dark Ages’ seemingly tepid launch has been attributed to a number of factors such as its $70 price tag for a singleplayer shooter, higher PC hardware requirements, XBOX Game Pass, and even criticism of the gameplay as being slower than previous installments.
Many have pointed out that DOOM Eternal’s success is mostly attributed to it being released in 2020 and the COVID lockdowns, that still doesn’t account for why DOOM: The Dark Ages didn’t even surpass DOOM 2016.
Whatever the case may be, DOOM: The Dark Ages is off to a slow start as the latest triple-A game to be released in 2025.
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