Warning: Massive Grain of Salt this and potential Massive Spoiler Warning. You’ve been warned.

A recent potential leak on 8kun has given credence to an old theory that Doom 2016 was in fact not the remake it claimed to be, but was in fact a sequel to Doom 64. This theory speculates that the various bits of lore and Easter Eggs from classic Doom 1-2 and the inspirations from Doom 64 are more than just Easter Eggs and inspirations They are in fact signs pointing to the game being a direct sequel.

This is potentially why Doom 64 has been remastered and is being paired as a pre-order bonus with Doom Eternal.

There are a few issues to this theory/leak. Chiefly the 2016 game was officially revealed to be a fresh start that would pay homage to the original games. In IGN’s coverage, last month executive producer Marty Stratton along with director Hugo Martin go into depth regarding how Doom 64 is a tonal inspiration for Doom Eternal.

Chiefly because it was the first game Martin ever owned in the series and was by all account his favorite game to play and revisit for years. Thus it is possible the homages the game’s design pays to Doom 64 could be interpreted as confirmation that the game’s predecessor is a direct sequel to Doom 64. Alternatively, the 2016 release could have been lightly retconned to now be an official sequel to Doom 64.

If this theory/leak does turn out to be true it is worth noting it removes the Christian inspiration of the original games. Father Aka is more akin to the Demiurge of ancient Greek and Gnostic tradition rather than Jehovah of Judaic Christian tradition. A Demiurge is a being often considered flawed by people who have completely separated themselves from nature, that possesses the power of creation. Depending on the mythological interpretation it is often a very cold being very much capable of abandoning in its creations and is believed to be the root cause of suffering by Gnostics having created an imperfect world.

This is supported by the nature of demons and the Makyrs in Doom 2016. Both having been created before humanity and both being of a decidedly unpleasant and hostile nature steeped in suffering. Further 2016’s lore states that hell is a cluster of realities or other dimensions that invade other dimensions/realities. The Makyrs do the same thing, but by subversive deceit and are at war with Hell.

What this all goes to illustrate is despite Eternal from previews still maintaining its anti woke messages, it definitely is abandoning its Judaic Christian origins. Suggesting or outright stating that different realities exist and the one the Doom Guy originated from merely attempted to put into context what was happening to them rather than it being actual hell.

This is of course speculatory given the leak does not go into many details and it is unknown how it is delivered or explained. If true though it does without a doubt remove the Christian influences of the original series as Christianity only affords Heaven, Hell, and Earth in existence. The Christian Crowd will probably take great offense to this revision once they realize the implications. Either way, we’ll find out in a few days when Doom Eternal launches whether people are misreading homages or if such a retcon has occurred.