Doom Eternal smashes records in debut

Bethesda and id Software’s latest Doom title, Doom Eternal, has bashed its way through serious records this week, as it debuts on PC and consoles.

Rip and tear

The year 2016 saw the total reinvigoration of the Doom franchise. A complete reboot of the game’s universe saw a move back to all-out action, and a shift to a mix of ranged and melee combat for the first time ever.

Contrary to belief at how it would actually shake out at the time, the game was a blockbuster. Not only that, but it became one of the best-loved entries in the FPS genre. Fast-forward four years later, and we’re right back there again with the game’s first sequel, Doom Eternal.

Publisher Bethesda is touting some big numbers this week, just a few days after Doom Eternal launched at retail. How big? Record shattering.

Though we don’t have a review posted yet, the critical response so far includes a 96% ‘Recommended’ score on OpenCritic. Pretty much every outlet has praised the title, including the idTech 7 engine.

Apparently, the fans agree. Post-release, Doom Eternal logged over 100k users concurrently on Steam. Yeah, that’s a ton. No doubt, some of that is due to people being forced to be home, due to the coronavirus pandemic currently encircling the planet. Not that it really matters. Either way, it’s impressive.

“We want to thank our millions of fans for their enthusiastic support of this amazing title,” said Ron Seger, SVP of Global Sales at Bethesda Softworks. “Despite thousands of retail stores closing, we are pleased so many fans have been able to enjoy DOOM Eternal.”

Ron Seger, SVP of Global Sales at Bethesda Softworks

Doom Eternal is available now for consoles and the PC, with a Nintendo Switch version coming up at some point too. The price of $59.99 USD will get you the basic version, with a deluxe edition also available for $89.99.