Despite low Steam turnout, Doom: The Dark Ages is id Software’s most popular game at launch, clearly thanks to Game Pass

It’s been nearly one week since the launch of Doom: The Dark Ages, id Software’s latest entry in the classic shooter series, and the third in a trilogy of games that started out with the 2016 reboot.

Though critics loved it, it was hard to shake the feeling that the launch felt a bit muted for a new major Doom, and Steam player numbers being the lowest out of any of the three recent games certainly made it seem like the game hasn’t been as successful as past entries. But that was only one part of the story.

As we mentioned in the same piece covering Steam numbers for Doom: The Dark Ages, those figures don’t reflect what’s going on consoles, either PlayStation or Xbox. Crucially, however, they also do not include Game Pass players on PC or Xbox.

The Dark Ages is a big release for Game Pass, and though Microsoft would love to sell copies to players the old-fashioned way, the company is also keen to grow Game Pass memberships. This is part of why we’re hearing more and more about player numbers, and not necessarily raw sales.

Which brings us to today’s news. Bethesda announced that Doom: The Dark Ages is the “biggest launch in id’s history.” More specifically, it managed to reach 3 million players seven times (!) faster than Doom Eternal – which previously held that record.

Bethesda didn’t reveal anymore besides, but the figure includes sales, as well as Game Pass members who tried the game. According to analyst firm Ampere (via
Christopher Dring), over 2 million of those 3 million are on Xbox, which is another indication of Game Pass’ reach on Xbox – though traditional copies sold are included in that, too.

If you’re one of the millions of players who jumped into The Dark Ages (or intend to do so soon), our massive Doom: The Dark Ages guide continues to receive more updates. If you really don’t want to miss out on all the secrets of every level, we have dedicated walkthroughs for each that you should definitely bookmark. The most recent of which being for Chapter 12 Sentinel Command Station.