During this evening’s E3 press conference, Bethesda announced that a free demo will be available for those who’d like to try Doom. Beginning tonight, the first level of Doom will be available for free on Steam, Xbox One and PS4 this week only. The Doom open beta took place on April 15-17 for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, giving players everywhere a chance to jump in and get a taste of the multiplayer action. This new demo allows players to try the bloody campaign, as well.
Bethesda said this offering was meant to be in the spirit of shareware demos that were so popular on the PC when the first Doom was popular.
Doom launched last month at number two on the charts, but Bethesda hopes to attract even more players with this clever, if not brief, promotion. “Doom ranked second for May 2016 sales on a unit basis and had the best first month of sales for any game in the franchise when combining sales across platforms—exceeding sales of Doom 3’s launch on the PC in August 2004,” said NPD analyst, Liam Callahan in her latest report.
For those already playing Doom, new content is on the way. Bethesda also said that more DLC was coming soon, including new maps and multiplayer modes.
Doom’s user-generated content and level-creator Snapmap is going to receive free updates, including new construction models, props, weapons, and items. New options will allow users to create their own single-player experiences. Two new modes will also arrive next month, including Exodus and Sector, as well as a free-for-all mode. These updates will be available to all players on all existing maps.
The studio also announced a new multiplayer DLC, Unto the Evil will feature three new maps—Offering, Cataclysm, and Ritual. A brand-new demonic enemy called the Harvester will also be introduced with the update.
