The reason why Doom: The Dark Ages won't have a multiplayer mode

Doom has long been one of the most iconic and beloved FPS franchises in gaming history. Naturally, the hype skyrocketed when Doom: The Dark Ages was first revealed in June 2024.

A fan-favorite feature of Doom and Doom Eternal has always been their multiplayer modes. As one of the first shooter franchises to pioneer online multiplayer, fans were eager to see what Doom: The Dark Ages could deliver with modern technology. However, it was revealed that this prequel would take the series in a new direction, with multiplayer no longer being a focus.

During a Q&A session at Xbox's Developer Direct, as reported by Eurogamer, executive producer Marty Stratton confirmed that Doom: The Dark Ages will be a campaign-only game, explaining that the scale of the story mode required the team's full focus.

"We made that decision early so we could really just go all in on the campaign. It's our largest, most expansive, most epic campaign ever, and we're just really happy with the decision," Stratton said. "It's been awesome to have the team focused solely on polishing and finishing the campaign."
 

A fair trade-off for fans
 

The developers have stated that Doom: The Dark Ages will feature the biggest, most in-depth campaign in the series’ history. This ambitious focus on single-player gameplay has allowed the team to allocate resources exclusively to crafting a polished and immersive experience.

While players will fight alongside allies in Doom: The Dark Ages, these allies will be NPCs rather than other players. Game director Hugo Martin mentioned that leaving out the multiplayer component freed up the development team to introduce exciting new elements, such as dragons and the Atlan mech—features that would not have been possible with divided priorities.

Prioritizing a larger, more immersive campaign over multiplayer appears to be a worthwhile trade-off. The opportunity to ride dragons and control mechs brings a fresh and ambitious twist to the Doom universe.

Doom: The Dark Ages is set to release in May 2025 and already has high expectations riding on it. Be sure to check out our price comparator tool to find the best deal for Doom: The Dark Ages!