Summary
Fans know more than ever aboutDoom: The Dark Agesafter Xbox Developer Direct, including why the game won’t include a multiplayer mode. The upcoming prequel toDoomandDoom Eternalwill take the series in new directions in several ways, including with its single-player-only focus. While some may be disappointed at the break from tradition, the team behindDoom: The Dark Ageshas a reasonable explanation behind the decision.
Many say the originalDoomwas the first shooter with online multiplayer, or at least the first game to bring it into the mainstream. Considering that legacy, it may strike some as a surprise that id Software is choosing to focus solely on the campaign in their latest entry. As dramatic a departure as it may be, though, it could let the game reach heights the series hasn’t been able to in previous titles.
In a Q&A at Xbox’s Developer Direct reported by Eurogamer, executive producer Marty Stratton announcedDoom: The Dark Ageswill be campaign-onlyand cited the story mode’s sheer size as the reason why.Doom: The Dark Agesis reportedly the biggest and most in-depth campaign in theDoomseries yet, which was made possible by developers focusing all their resources on the campaign rather than diverting time to multiplayer functionality. Players mayfight alongside allies inDoom: The Dark Agesfor the first time, but their teammates will be NPCs. In that regard at least, the Doom Slayer is still slaughtering waves of demons all on his own.
Doom: The Dark Ages' Lack of Multiplayer Means the Campaign Can Be Bigger Than Ever
Game director Hugo Martin expanded on how focusing on solo experiences helped push the campaign to new heights.Doom: The Dark Agesgives players a dragon to rideand a giant mech to pilot, and according to Martin, those are both elements id Software had wanted to include in previous titles but weren’t able to partially because of resources going to multiplayer. Removing the need to include multiplayer gives the developers more time and resources to work on the dragon and the mech — a fair trade-off, sinceDoom:The Dark Agesis now poised to bring never-before-seen features to the series.
If the specs are any indication, the effort to push the game to its limits has paid off. The Developer Direct also revealed that at a minimum,Doom: The Dark Agesrequires a ray-tracing capable GPUon PC, as well as an 8-core CPU and 16 GB of RAM. It’s certainly the biggest, most demandingDoomtitle to date, even without multiplayer options to consider.
