Doom: The Dark Ages Is The $70 Canary in the Coal Mine for AAA Gaming

Doom: The Dark Ages was supposed to be a slam dunk. A legendary franchise, a proven studio, and a marketing push from Microsoft that put the game front and center on Game Pass. But instead of the expecting incoming roaring success, the game limped out of the gate, and the reason why should be a dire warning for the entire AAA industry...

Too Expensive...

The Value... Just Isn’t There

On paper, Doom: The Dark Ages checks all the boxes: dragons, cosmic gods, metal soundtracks, and mechs. But in practice, it shipped as the lightest Doom package yet, housing about a 20-hour single-player campaign, with... no multiplayer, no custom map features, no roguelike mode, and NO meaningful post-launch content roadmap.

Compare just this to all Doom 2016 has to offer, which initially launched with SnapMap, PvP multiplayer, and mod support. Or even Doom Eternal, which added expansions and Battle Mode. Dark Ages launched at a higher price, with less to offer. Oh, and it was day 1 GamePass as well...

At $70 USD, that’s a tough pill to swallow—especially when you can pick up games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for $50 (or even less on sale week one), or Oblivion Remastered for the same price and get WAYYYY more content, customization, and replayability. Doom has been an absolute blast to play, don't get me wrong... but in comparison to the cheaper alternatives coming out around the same time, it just isn't stacking up. At this point, most folks I've spoken to want to play, but plan on waiting for a good sale, or picking GamePass up eventually down the road to check it out. Not to mention, PC specs need to be up there to even run this game smoothly on top of all that.

...But Game Pass Isn’t a Safety Net

I've heard plenty argue the whole "Well, Dark Ages is on Game Pass, so of course fewer people bought it" angle... And while that’s true for Xbox, that doesn't explain why the Steam player showing up on SteamDB are ...beyond abysmal, to put it nicely.

The initial launch weekend peaks hovered around 31,000 concurrent players, which is around just 30% of Doom Eternal’s launch. And while Eternal wasn’t on GamePass right at launch, it still exploded in popularity, even during a pandemic...

My overall takeaway from all this is that having that GamePass visibility doesn’t save a game from poor perceived value. Players outside of the subscription ecosystem still expect serious bang for their buck.

The Industry’s Price Hike Backfired

This is the first Doom game to launch under Microsoft’s full control, since they purchased iD software, under the Zenimax Media umbrella (remember, part of that Bethesda deal? Geez, it feels like Microsoft owns everything these days, but I digress...) and of course after that purchase, it just so happens to be the most expensive one yet. And ironically, it’s the least feature-rich one of the latest trilogy. That disconnect is what’s fueling all of this backlash. You can’t just sell fewer features at a higher price and then just expect players pay whatever you charge AND not to notice any differences.

Oh, and even worse? This all comes right before all those convenient planned industry-wide price hikes I've been pretty pissed about, with Microsoft and Nintendo both floating $80–$90 as the new norm later this year. If Doom: The Dark Ages is any indication, their strategy they are heading into is "doom"ed (sorry... I had to).

Remember when former PlayStation exec Shuhei Yoshida claimed recently that those $70–$80 USD prices were a “steal” as long as people chose carefully? Hahaha... Crap in one hand and wish in the other. Which one fills up first? That’s exactly my point. People are choosing, and with the latest Doom? they’re choosing not to buy.

As far as myself, yeah, no. No way I would have paid full price for the latest Doom. I was fortunate enough to have it gifted to the channel, but with so many great games coming out recently, prior to having it gifted, I was fully prepared to patiently await a $20-30 price point. This latest Doom at $70 really did limit the intended audience.

The Proof Is Everywhere

• Clair Obscur - my current GOTY leader, sold over 2 million copies at $50.

• Oblivion Remastered hit over 216,000 concurrent players on Steam with a lower price tag.

• Even Stellar Blade, a year-old PS5 exclusive, is now outselling Doom: The Dark Ages on Steam... and OOF... that hasn’t even released there yet.

Gamers are out in full force right now, voting with their wallets. And everyone seems to be sending a clear message in unison with each other: If you’re going to charge more, the content better be worth it... But even then, it will have its hurdles.

If the latest Doom had been $50 USD, reception would have been EXTREMELY different. But as it stands, The Dark Ages is looking more and more like a massive turning point. Not just for Doom, but for AAA pricing expectations as a whole.

Doom Sounded the Alarm

Doom: The Dark Ages isn’t just another really fun release that stumbled at launch, it’s THE canary in the coal mine for an industry that keeps raising prices over and over again while at the same time, cutting features. If this trend continues, and companies ignore the clear market resistance, they’re setting themselves up for more flops... Not like Microsoft cares, because while fun, the game feels like it was made with GamePass in mind. Not trying to get extra sales, longevity, or additional content out of the experience.

You can’t just slap $70 on the box and expect gamers to accept it.

Not anymore. Not ever, really.

~Smash