It looks like shooter fans are going to have to wait a few months to meet their Doom. Developer id Software announced today that Doom: Eternal will now be releasing for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Stadia on March 20. The Switch version will follow at an unspecified later day.
Doom: Eternal was supposed to release on November 22. Video game development is complicated, so these kinds of delays are not unusual. But this does mean that Doom: Eternal will now miss the lucrative holiday season, which should have an impact on publisher Bethesda’s revenues during the end of year.
“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,” id Software noted in a press release sent to GamesBeat “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.”
The studio did supplement the sad news by announcing a new feature. Invasion Mode will let players enter another persons game and control a demon. This will be available as a free update after launch.
Doom 64 has become a preorder bonus for Doom: Eternal. Anyone who purchases the new game early will get a digital copy of the 1997 entry in the franchise for the same platform. Doom 64’s digital version was supposed to launch on November 22 along with the original Doom: Eternal release date, but it has also been pushed back.