DOOM: The Dark Ages was one of the several games that got the spotlight at the January 2025 Xbox Developer Direct, which included details on new gameplay mechanics as well as an official date for the game's release. The developers at id Software put together an extensive deep dive presentation to break down the new combat mechanics players will have to master if they want to survive the coming battles in The Dark Ages. New details were also provided on the game's world and story, setting up how this new entry will fit into the over thirty-year-old series.

Coming off the heels of 2020's Doom Eternal and its DLC expansions, DOOM: The Dark Ages serves as a prequel to the 2016 soft reboot of the series and will likely fill in some key gaps in the franchise's lore. Taking place in a techno-medieval setting that blends fantasy and sci-fi, The Dark Ages will allow fans to experience the Doom Slayer's exploits as previously alluded to in the various codices and lore found throughout the previous DOOM games. Fortunately, players will only have to wait a little longer until they can sink their teeth into The Dark Ages.

When DOOM: The Dark Ages Releases In 2025

The Game Launches In Late Spring

DOOM: The Dark Ages will launch on May 15, 2025 and will be available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Windows. The game will also be available day one on Xbox and PC for Game subscribers (as all games presented in the Xbox Developer Direct will be), which will be another major value-add for the service. Players who buy the or Collector's Editions of the game will receive two days of early access, letting them play the game on May 13 alongside numerous other goodies.

Both the Edition and the very pricey Collector's Edition of The Dark Ages come with a suite of able bonus content, including a future DLC expansion, a digital artbook and soundtrack, and the Divinity Skin Pack including skins for the Doom Slayer himself, his dragon mount, and his Atlan mech. Exclusive to the physical Collector's Edition are a replica of the in-game keycards, gorgeous twelve-inch statue of the Doom Slayer, and a steelbook case. As an added bonus, anyone who preorders The Dark Ages will receive an extra Doom Slayer skin.

As a subsidiary of Bethesda, id Software and the DOOM brand are now owned by Microsoft. Despite this, DOOM: The Dark Ages will be releasing on PS5 the same day as it launches on Xbox and Windows in continuation of the franchise's multi-platform legacy. Players interested in preordering the game ahead of launch can do so digitally on Xbox, PlayStation Store, or Steam.

New Weapons In DOOM: The Dark Ages

A Killer Arsenal Highlighted By More Melee Options

The most exciting part of any DOOM game is the arsenal of weapons that the player will use to rip and shred through hordes of demons, and DOOM: The Dark Ages doesn't look like it'll disappoint. At the core of the new combat system is the Shield Saw, a weapon the Doom Slayer carries alongside his main weapon and serves a variety of contextual uses. It can be launched as a projectile, wielded defensively to parry or reflect projectiles, used to finish off enemies, or even function as a makeshift grappling hook for platforming purposes.

Fitting for its medieval trappings and name, The Dark Ages will also arm the player with a set of new melee weapons. While the Doom Slayer in action with a flail was showcased when the game was announced, the new footage reveals two new weapons also added to the mix: an electrified power gauntlet and a spiked mace. These weapons will shape a revamped Glory Kill system that promises to offer more freedom and variety than found in the previous games, and each will also come with their own upgrades and combos to use in battle.

The real stars of the show are, of course, the new collection of guns that will be available, and The Dark Ages has some truly wild new firearms on display. There's the accelerator, a weapon that looks to be similar in function to the plasma rifles of past DOOM games, and the rail spike gun that launches large nails that can pin enemies to walls for further punishment. Perhaps the most eye-catching is the skull crusher, a gun that grinds up skulls as ammo to spray a hail of bone shards for a wide range of damage.

DOOM: The Dark Ages Trailer & Gameplay Details

Stand & Fight Rather Than Run & Gun

One of the main points that the developers at id Software stressed during their presentation is that DOOM: The Dark Ages will draw from the original DOOM games with a stronger focus on strafe aiming. Combat in The Dark Ages will reward players who adopt a more grounded, heavy style of offense in contrast with the high-mobility combat emphasized in the previous installments. Speaking in the Developer Direct presentation, available on the official Bethesda Softworks YouTube channel, producer Marty Stratton and director Hugo Martin illustrate the difference in philosophy between each of the three modern DOOM titles:

You know we want every DOOM game to stand on its own, as a unique experience, so in 2016 we asked you to run and gun. In DOOM Eternal it was jump and shoot. And in DOOM: The Dark Ages, you're gonna stand and fight.

This "stand and fight" approach appears in the gameplay footage, as the Doom Slayer remains largely motionless in combat, moving only in the form of quick dodges or to lunge in for a Glory Kill. The Shield Saw is on full display as a defensive tool, blocking a charging enemy and leaving it dazed or reflecting green-colored projectiles back at the attacker. The Dark Ages looks to continue the series' trademark high-octane firefights with an increased emphasis on getting up and close and personal with the legions of Hell.

The glimpses we get of two new gameplay styles are particularly enticing. Aerial combat sections put the Doom Slayer on the back of a dragon mount, and there are other segments where the player gets to take control of a colossal mech suit to combat kaiju-sized demons like something out of a twisted Godzilla movie. Stratton and Martin assure fans that these are not just one-and-done segments of the game, but that both the dragon and the mech will be fully fleshed-out aspects of the gameplay in DOOM: The Dark Ages.

Sources: Xbox, PlayStation Store, Steam, Bethesda Softworks/YouTube