Doom: The Dark Ages director Hugo Martin is getting fans excited about the new DLC coming for the run-and-gun shooter, suggesting it will feel like a brand-new game. The newest entry in the beloved shooter series from developer id Software made waves following its release, seeing praise from fans and critics alike. Doom: The Dark Ages quickly became the biggest release in the developer’s history, amassing 3 million players within just a week of its launch and winning “Innovation in Accessibility” at the 2025 Game Awards. The game has also received multiple updates with new content after its debut.
Doom: The Dark Ages brought some big changes to the franchise’s reboot series with its launch in May 2025. Developer id Software put a heavy focus on melee combat within the game, giving the Doom Slayer new weapons like gauntlets, a mace, and a flail to mow down enemies. The developer continued to push out new updates for Dark Ages following its release, adding the Ripatorium as an endless arena with increasingly powerful enemies for players to fight. Now, the director for Doom: The Dark Ages is getting fans hyped up for the game’s upcoming DLC.
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Doom: The Dark Ages Director Teases Big Plans for New DLC
During a recent Slayers Club Live broadcast, Hugo Martin dropped some cryptic hints about the future of Doom: The Dark Ages. Martin shared that recent playtests of the DLC saw the director completely changing his playstyle from Dark Ages‘ pre-existing content, saying it was “nothing like” the streamed gameplay. Martin addressed fan concerns about the long wait time for news about the DLC, but stressed that the DLC is “huge” and even claimed it was “basically a sequel” to Doom: The Dark Ages. Despite the exciting hints about the scale of the Doom DLC, Martin did confirm that an official teaser trailer was still “a little ways out there.”
Though Martin did not directly confirm any new content, the director did share some hints about the DLC for Doom: The Dark Ages. Martin coyly alluded to one suggestion from a viewer, asking for an alternate game mode that focused more on Perfect Dodges and counterattacks. Martin also touched on the importance of keeping true to fan expectations of the franchise, while also being able to innovate and do new things with Doom: The Dark Ages. The director did tease a potential new weapon with a special movement ability, though he did not go into specifics.
Hugo Martin also touched on some of the changes made in Doom: The Dark Ages, both regarding its style of gameplay and theming. The previously-mentioned alterations to Doom‘s gameplay also came with a significant shift in the timeline of the franchise, with Dark Ages set as a distant prequel to Hell’s invasion of Earth. Glory Kills saw big adjustments with the release of Dark Ages, changing the flashy kill animations to be largely reserved for bosses while making them far more rare for normal enemies.
The sizable DLC planned for Doom: The Dark Ages could potentially line up with a huge milestone for the franchise. id Software recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Doom studio’s founding, hinting at big plans for its anniversary celebrations. id Software’s 35th anniversary also lines up with another major anniversary for a game connected to the studio, with classic shooter franchise Quake set to officially turn 25 on June 22. The developer notably did not confirm any specifics of its plans at the time, simply suggesting fans should “stay tuned” for more from the studio. id Software’s 30th anniversary may turn out to be a big one, with Doom‘s massive DLC and lots more potentially in store.
- Released
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May 15, 2025
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Publisher(s)
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Bethesda Softworks
