DOOM The Dark Ages: Bethesda Announces 3 Million Players, Not Sales

Doom The Dark Ages is a notable success for Bethesda, as they announce that the game has reached 3 million players just five days after its release. This achievement underscores the popularity of id Software’s latest title and should be understood within the context of its availability on Game Pass from day one. Unlike DOOM Eternal, which was not accessible through Microsoft’s subscription service at launch, DOOM The Dark Ages benefits from immediate access for millions of subscribers, significantly contributing to its rapid player base growth. To mark this milestone, Bethesda shared a comparison on X (formerly Twitter), noting that DOOM The Dark Ages reached 3 million players seven times faster than DOOM Eternal. However, it is important to clarify that this statistic refers to players rather than sales figures; DOOM Eternal had sold approximately 3 million copies within about a month of its release.

If we examine Steam and specifically SteamDB, we can observe that the peak number of simultaneous players at launch is significantly lower than its predecessors: 31,000 compared to 104,000 for Doom Eternal (five years ago) and 44,000 for the DOOM game from 2016. These figures suggest that most of the audience discovered the experience through Game Pass rather than purchasing the game individually. This rapid and extensive reach illustrates how subscription models are transforming the video game industry landscape. A title can now attract millions of players without achieving traditional record-breaking sales figures.