Since its release last week, *Doom: The Dark Ages* has attracted over 3 million players across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, marking it as the largest launch in id Software’s history by player count. According to a recent social media post from Bethesda, this milestone was achieved seven times faster than the studio’s previous title, *Doom Eternal*, which launched back in 2020.
However, while player numbers are impressive, Bethesda has not yet released official sales figures for *Doom: The Dark Ages*. This is notable given that the game launched on May 15, 2025, with day-one availability on Xbox Game Pass for both consoles and PC—a factor that likely influenced access and engagement metrics across platforms.
Looking at Steam data, where player activity is publicly visible, *Doom: The Dark Ages* reached a peak concurrent player count of 31,470, with a 24-hour peak of 16,328. In comparison, *Doom Eternal* hit a significantly higher peak of 104,891 concurrent players upon its release five years ago. Meanwhile, the 2016 reboot of *Doom* achieved a peak of 44,271 players on Steam nearly a decade ago. These stats suggest that while *The Dark Ages* may be off to a solid start, it hasn’t yet matched its predecessor’s traction on Valve’s platform.
Still, the Game Pass effect must be considered. Launching day one on Microsoft's subscription service means many players accessed the game without purchasing it outright. While this can boost visibility and player engagement, it also complicates traditional sales benchmarks. Games like *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* have shown that strong retail sales—reaching 2 million copies sold—are still possible even with a Game Pass launch. However, *Doom: The Dark Ages* carries a higher price point at $69.99, which may have impacted purchase decisions for some players.
Bethesda’s decision to highlight player numbers rather than sales aligns with similar strategies used for titles like *The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered*, which also celebrated 4 million players after launching on Game Pass. Ubisoft adopted a comparable approach with *Assassin’s Creed: Shadows*, emphasizing player counts instead of hard sales.
Ultimately, only Bethesda and Microsoft have the full picture when it comes to how well *Doom: The Dark Ages* has performed against internal expectations. That said, the 3 million player mark does indicate strong performance on consoles and through Game Pass, even if its presence on Steam appears more modest by comparison.
Critically, the game has been well-received. IGN awarded *Doom: The Dark Ages* a score of 9/10, praising its bold shift in gameplay mechanics: “Doom: The Dark Ages may strip away the mobility focus of Doom Eternal, but replaces it with a very weighty and powerful style of play that is different from anything the series has done before, and still immensely satisfying in its own way.”
