Doom: The Dark Ages sees a major drop in Steam players compared to Doom Eternal, but Game Pass availability may explain the shift. Here’s what’s happening.
Doom: The Dark Ages Steam Player Count Is Low—But It Makes Sense
Doom: The Dark Ages has officially launched to strong reviews, but that momentum hasn’t quite carried over to Steam player numbers—at least, not yet. Despite holding a solid 87 score on OpenCritic, the game is significantly trailing behind its predecessor, Doom Eternal, when it comes to peak concurrent players on Steam.
According to data reported by The Gamer, Doom: The Dark Ages reached an all-time Steam peak of 30,812 players, a huge dip compared to Doom Eternal’s 104,891 at launch five years ago. But before anyone rings the alarm bells, there’s actually a pretty solid explanation.
First, Doom Eternal dropped at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—when more people than ever were stuck at home and diving into new games. That gave it a huge natural boost in numbers.
Second—and probably the biggest factor—Doom: The Dark Ages launched day one on Xbox Game Pass, something Doom Eternal didn’t benefit from, as Microsoft hadn’t acquired Bethesda yet. Now, many players are likely just hopping into the game through Game Pass, bypassing Steam altogether. So while the Steam numbers look rough, they don’t paint the full picture of how the game is performing overall.
Looking ahead, Doom: The Dark Ages has more content on the way. While id Software hasn’t shared exact details yet, the Premium Edition includes access to future campaign DLC—so we know expansions are in the works.
For now, the lower Steam numbers might look concerning on the surface, but considering the context, Doom: The Dark Ages is probably doing just fine. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out once the dust settles—and once those inevitable DLC drops hit.
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