Doom: The Dark Ages Launches with Lowest Steam Player Count in Modern Trilogy
Doom: The Dark Ages debuts with just over 30K Steam players, falling behind previous titles. Game Pass release and pricing likely impacted turnout.
Image via id Software
Doom: The Dark Ages has now launched on Steam, but the numbers? Yeah, they’re not quite what fans might’ve expected. Compared to the last two games in the franchise, this one’s debut has been the quietest. Though not necessarily a failure, it’s clear the crowd wasn’t as loud this time around.
Back when Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal hit Steam, they pulled in big player numbers right out of the gate. The Dark Ages, on the other hand, saw a peak of only 30,812 players on day one, which is way lower than Eternal’s 104,891 and even below Doom 2016’s 44,271. According to SteamDB, the highest it reached was about 31,470 on May 17, before dropping down into the 20,000s range.
Launch Day Performance and Player Counts
Released officially on May 15, The Dark Ages showed up across all major platforms including PC through Steam. By the next day, the live player count hovered around 27,000, with its top peak still underwhelming in comparison to its older siblings. It’s worth remembering, though, that by the time Eternal launched, Xbox Game Pass had started pulling away some PC players from Steam, and that probably affected things here too.
Still, it’s not all gloom. On Steam, over 7,000 reviews have already come in and about 85% of those are positive. Not quite the glowing love Doom Eternal or 2016 got, but it’s not bad. Critics have said the game’s got good design ideas—especially the shield mechanics and larger level layouts—even if the campaign feels a bit short.
Why the Numbers Might Be Lower
There’s more than one reason for the drop in player activity, and it’s not just about interest.
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Game Pass Factor: The game was available day one on Xbox Game Pass for PC, which means many players didn’t bother with Steam at all.
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Price Tag: A few folks have mentioned online that the price feels a bit too steep, so maybe they’re waiting on a sale.
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No Multiplayer: With zero multiplayer features, it’s only gonna pull in the solo players, which is a smaller group compared to FPS fans who want PvP action.
What’s Ahead for The Dark Ages
id Software seems to be aware that things didn’t kick off with a bang. The team is already talking about updates and possible DLC to help bring players back. There’s mention of more difficulty options, extra Slayer Gates, and even mod support coming down the road. If they stick to that and keep refining the game, Doom: The Dark Ages could still gain more traction—even if it started out quiet.
Written By - Farjana Jamal, Freelancer, India Today Gaming
