Bethesda and id Software have announced that the highly anticipated first-person shooter, DOOM: Eternal, has been delayed to spring of 2020. More specifically, March 20th, 2020.
Niche Gamer spotted the news over on the official DOOM Twitter account, which made the announcement on October 8th, 2019.
An update on DOOM Eternal: pic.twitter.com/2LWrfh6e4Z
— DOOM (@DOOM) October 8, 2019
If you’re unable to view the message in the image, it states…
“Througout the development of DOOM Eternal, our goal has been to deliver a game that exceeds your greatest expectations across the board.
“To make sure we’re delivering the best experience – for DOOM Eternal to live up to our standards of speed and polish – we’ve made the decision to extend our launch date by a few months to March 20, 2020. We know many fans will be disappointed by this delay, but we are confident that DOOM Eternal will deliver a gaming experience that is worth the wait.
“In addition to shiftingt he DOOM Eternal launch date, we’ve made a couple of other changes we wanted you to know about:
“Invasion Mode, which will allow you to enter another player’s game as a playable demon, will release as a free update shortly after launch.
“DOOM Eternal for Nintendo Switch will release after the other platforms. We will announce that date in the future.
“DOOM 64 Will be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in addition to Nintendo Switch. We are adding DOOM 64 as a pre-order bonus for DOOM Eternal on all platforms so you’ll be able to download and play this classic game, for free, just for pre-ordering DOOM Eternal. DOOM 64 will be released on March 20, 2020 on all platforms.”
They don’t say exactly why the game is being delayed by four months.
There are some interesting speculative comments in the thread about why the game is being delayed. Some fear that id Software might consider replacing DOOM Guy, but hope that he’s still the lead when March rolls around…
as long as you don’t replace Doom guy for…
Doom something else…
go ahead
take your time— Frank Rafael (@frankrafael1) October 8, 2019
Others were worried about microtransactions and loot boxes making it into the game. A few more were of the mind that the delay could be due to the backlash that id Software received for culling deathmatch from the multiplayer offerings, so they’re trying to hurry and add it back into the main game.
It’s gonna sell. I think the only real competition for people who have to decide to wheter buy the one or the other is Cyberpunk.
— Linkario (@Linkario86) October 8, 2019
Again, id Software didn’t provide any concrete reasons for the delay, so it could be as simple as polishing up each level and ensuring that the game works right for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One at launch, or it could be more serious and involve reworking certain cinematics or story elements for some reason.
It could be completely related to depth, such as adding additional weapons or replayable loops to make the game more fun (but I highly doubt that’s the case for the four month delay).
Typically these kind of delays are strategically positioned around fiscal quarters. However, ZeniMax isn’t publicly traded, so it’s not like moving the game to March would make a difference for the company’s portfolio.
Hopefully they don’t remove any of the more politically incorrect content, but we’ll likely find out what spawned the delay closer toward its release.
(Thanks for the news tip GrandmasterShadow)
