Doom: The Dark Ages release date confirmed

Microsoft has confirmed the release date for Doom: The Dark Ages.

Following earlier leaks, the platform holder confirmed during Developer Direct that the game will be released on PC, Xbox Series, and PS5 on May 15.

Doom: The Dark Ages, which publisher Bethesda describes as an “FPS epic like nothing id Software has ever made before”, will take place in a medieval-style setting, featuring a prequel story set before the most recent games.

The game will feature mech combat, as well as flying sections. The game will also introduce an update to the game’s glory kill system, allowing for glory kills to take place more quickly, and without the need for a canned animation.

The release date announcement came during the latest Xbox Developer Direct presentation, where developer id Software gave a closer look at the game in action.

This included a look at four new weapons – the Shield Saw, a spiked flail, an electric gauntlet and a spiked mace.

“It’s all about engagement,” game director Hugo Martin told Xbox Wire, “creating a loop or ‘dance’ that’s intuitive, innovative and loaded with depth – fun on the outside smart on the inside. An appealing power fantasy that’s new but familiar – who hasn’t wanted to feel like an iron tank in the middle of a medieval war against hell?”

Doom: The Dark Ages will take players to locations from The Doomslayer’s past and “worlds beyond”. The game will not feature a multiplayer component and will instead be an entirely single-player release. Doom: The Dark Ages will also have a larger focus on the story, which ID claims is the studio’s “best yet”.

Unlike Bethesda’s recent title Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Doom: The Dark Ages will be released on PS5 on the same day as Xbox and PC, with the difference being that Xbox and PC players will be able to access the game day one on Game Pass.