Ever since Doom Eternal's release on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia earlier this year, id Software has made fans aware that a Nintendo Switch port of the popular first-person shooter would be following suit. Today, the studio finally announced when the handheld version of the game will be arriving, with the Switch port set to debut in just over a week's time.
Revealed at the tail-end of a new trailer, Doom Eternal will officially be launching for Nintendo Switch just in time for the holiday season, arriving on December 8. Of course, following last week's news, the game won't be released physically and instead will be exclusively available on the Nintendo eShop.
As for the accompanying trailer, it focuses on what most players would expect when they think of Doom Eternal: brutal and gory demon-killing set afore Mick Gordon's now-iconic heavy metal soundtrack. It begins with the game's opening cinematic, seeing the Doom Slayer prepare his weapons before descending to earth on his mission to eradicate the three hell priests. The notorious opener is superseded by a ton of action-packed Doom footage, with the Slayer firing grenades into crowds of imps, decapitating a revenant, and wielding the insanely powerful crucible found in the latter-half of the campaign.
It also showcases some of the shooter's most intimidating enemies, including the shielding Arch-vile, the infamously punishing Marauder, and several of the game's climactic bosses. The footage gives a good overview of the game's visuals as well, which, as expected, are something of a downgrade from those seen in other versions of the game. Textures seem much less sharp, although it's a worthy sacrifice for the game to run well on a handheld console, which the gameplay footage appears to confirm is the case. After all, for a game as fast-paced as Doom Eternal, a stable frame rate is essential.
This isn't the only port on the way for Doom Eternal, however, with id Software's latest take on the hit FPS franchise also making its way to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X at some point next year. The ports promise to take advantage of both next generation platforms' new hardware, meaning better visuals, faster load times, and several other console-specific features. Alongside that, the game will be up for the coveted Game of the Year Award at Geoff Keighley's Game Awards on December 10. It will battle against the likes of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Hades, The Last of Us 2, and Ghost of Tsushima to take home the gold.
Doom Eternal is now available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions currently in development and a Switch port landing on December 8.