All Articles: Doom (2016)

Doom 4 (I know, I know, it’s actually just Doom) made its debut at this weekend’s QuakeCon, but it sounds like the rest of us won’t get a peak at the next game in the beloved series until sometime in 2015. Speaking to PC Gamer, Bethesda’s Pete Hines revealed that that’s because development is still in the early going and that the game isn’t quite ready for a public reveal just yet:

“I try really, really hard for this to be a dev first, dev-lead thing,” said Hines, and id Software isn’t ready for a worldwide reveal of Doom. “We’re working with them to say, ‘How does this work? What do we want to show?’ And they’re like, ‘Look, we don’t want a stream to go up for a game that isn’t at the point where we would formally show it to the world, and now that thing is getting picked apart, and digested, and gone through frame-by-frame and getting nitpicked to death, when normally we wouldn’t be showing this to anybody at all.’”

So if Doom 4 is still so rough around the edges, why show it at QuakeCon at all? According to Hines, it was to get the Doom name back out there and show that id Software’s troubles are behind it:

“I really wanted to put something out there that, in a strong way, said, ‘id is working on something that we think is really cool,’” said Hines. “And we wanted … to show something to [id Software fans] that gives them the confidence that it is still a viable studio that’s doing really cool stuff, that is making a game you want to play, and is treating Doom with the care and respect that you want.

“And now we’re going to go away and go back to making the game, but to be able to counter other people talking about us and we’re sort of just sitting here staying silent, or operating from this negative space of like, ‘Oh, it got rebooted, oh it’s in trouble.’ All of that stuff just bothered the hell out of me.”

It looks like those of us who couldn’t attend QuakeCon 2014 are just doomed to wait.

QuakeCon kicked off last night and fans in attendance got their first look at Doom 4, which id Software and Bethesda are officially calling Doom. That’s right, it’s a reboot. But reports from the packed auditorium (no recording was allowed and Bethesda has announced they will not publicly release the demo video) tell a tale of a Doom that returns to its roots.

According to Game Informer, id’s Marty Stratton introduced the video by saying: “You’ll see crazy demons. Unbelievable mechanical demons built through secret and corrupt UAC experiments. Demons like Hell Knights, the Cyberdemon, Revenant, and many more. Whether these demons are something familiar or something totally new, each of them is designed to create a unique combat experience, regardless of whether you are fighting against it, killing it, or being killed by it.”

Stratton also said that Doom is not about taking cover, but “charging forward with nothing in your way of slaughtering that next demon.” With this, the demo video began and showed a new Doom for a new century. The Marine battled zombies and demons with familiar looking weapons (shotgun, double shotgun, Plasma Gun) and was able to perform a variety of melee fatalities on fallen foes. But just like the original game, more demons can teleport in to add to the chaos. Thankfully, the chainsaw will also make a return appearance in the new Doom and Stratton said that players can carry as many weapons as they want.

It’s unknown is colored keys will make a return in the new Doom, but locked doors will definitely play a part. At one point in the demo, the Marine was blocked by a lock that required a handprint. Rather than drag over the body of a nearby scientist, the Marine pulled off his arm and slapped the hand down on the scanner. Also new is the inclusion of a double jump to reach higher platforms. Finally, Stratton let QuakeCon attendees know that the new Doom will include some kind of multiplayer mode, though they weren’t ready to talk about it just yet.

While the game itself is decidedly old school, the technology under the hood will be state-of-the-art. Doom will run on the brand new idTech 6 engine and is in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. No release date was announced, but I imagine it will be later rather than sooner. More details on the Doom beta, which was offered as an incentive for those who pre-ordered Wolfenstein: The New Order, will also be revealed at a later date.

Remember when Bethesda announced that the first trailer for Doom 4 would be revealed at this year’s QuakeCon? Well, according to the Bethesda Blog, convention attendees will be getting an “exclusive” peak at the game’s debut trailer that the rest of us won’t ever be able to see. While I have my doubts that this trailer will never find its way online, Bethesda did say as much in their announcement:

“This an exclusive thing we are doing for attendees as part of our Annual QuakeCon Welcome presentation. We’ll have plenty more to show everyone at a later date, but we didn’t want another QuakeCon to go by without doing something special for the amazing QC community and id supporters that have been with us for more than 20 years.”

This year’s QuakeCon will be held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX from July 17 through July 20. Doom 4 (currently known only as “Doom“) is currently in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.