QuakeCon 2019, the convention celebrating all things id Software, started off with a major announcement. Bethesda is bringing all three classic main series Doom games to modern platforms, including the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Doom, Doom 2, and Doom 3 are all now available to download across all three platforms, with Doom and Doom 2 also available to download and play on iOS and Android devices.
The Doom franchise began in 1993 on the pre-Windows PC operating system MS-DOS. Its popularity was immediate, its importance in the growth of game development profound. Between 1993 and 2019, Doom was released on 11 different platforms. Yet between 2009 and 2019, there was a gap, with Doom not being ported to any modern console. Today, Bethesda made up for the long wait with a broad cross-platform launch.
Doom 2 and Doom 3 faced similar gaps in rereleases, with Doom 2 last released on the Xbox 360 in 2010 and Doom 3 only ever being ported to the Xbox a year after its PC launch. The lack of availability for these three classic Doom games is astonishing in retrospect. 2019 will be the first time in the franchise's history that all three classics, as well as the new Doom series, are widely accessible.
To be fair, Bethesda's delay in re-releasing the classic Doom titles is understandable given the launch of the new series. Launching Doom 2019 while Doom 1993 is also available would be confusing, to say the least. Now that the new Doom is popular and critically acclaimed, Bethesda must have judged that it will stand apart despite the identical titles. It's a celebration of Doom, with more exciting content soon to be released.
The re-release of Doom, Doom 2, and Doom 3, as exciting as it is on its own, is also clearly part of Bethesda's current marketing push for the upcoming launch of Doom Eternal. Doom Eternal launches November 22 across PC, PS4, and Xbox One, making the July launch of these three classic Doom titles a great way to get gamers talking about the franchise again, while still being early enough not to step on Doom Eternal's toes. Despite that, there's never been a better time to be a Doom fan.
Doom, Doom 2, and Doom 3 are available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Doom and Doom 2 are also available now on iOS and Android devices.