DOOM Eternal Doesn’t Have a Deathmatch Mode Because That’s “Eons Old,” says Bethesda VP

The FPS Review may receive a commission if you purchase something after clicking a link in this article.

Image: id Software/Bethesda Softworks

DOOM Eternal may be getting rave reviews, but some fans aren’t happy with the fact that the FPS lacks a traditional deathmatch mode – which is kind of strange, being that the original game invented (or, at least, popularized) it.

In an interview conducted by Shacknews, Bethesda’s SVP of Global Marketing and Communications Pete Hines explained why id Software dropped it from DOOM Eternal. Apparently, deathmatch wouldn’t make the game feel like DOOM anymore.

Craddock: On that note, one of the criticisms of Doom 2016’s multiplayer is that deathmatch wasn’t available at launch. Doom invented that mode of play, so I’m kind of surprised it won’t be available as an option in Doom Eternal, either. So, as cool as Battle Mode looks, are you concerned about another Doom game missing that multiplayer staple?

Hines: No. That mode is eons old. The biggest problem we thought we had with Doom 2016–and folks can agree or disagree–was that [multiplayer] wasn’t done at id, and felt really disconnected from the base game that everybody loved. That was a big thing that Marty and Hugo talked about: “Whether you’re playing by yourself or with others, we want it to feel like you’re all playing the same game.” That’s as opposed to, “I’m a badass demon slayer in single-player, but when I go over to multiplayer, there are no demons, and it’s just deathmatch.” I don’t know what that has to do with [Doom] other than that, well, a couple of decades ago we had that, so we should just have that again.

That’s a pretty strange excuse. What was stopping id Software from just adding it? The fact is that there are plenty of DOOM fans who would love to play deathmatch under the id Tech 7 engine.

Naturally, Hines did sing high praises for DOOM Eternal’s all-new BATTLEMODE, which pits two demons versus a single Doom Slayer. But at the end of the day, that’s not deathmatch.

Hines: I guess going back to my original point of working with studios: We don’t want to do something just for the sake of doing it, or because something has always been a certain way. We want to make sure we’re doing stuff that’s interesting and that resonates. I loved the idea of what they were doing with Battle Mode. The first time I played, I was instantly hooked. I’ve only played as a demon, in part because as I mentioned, I get really motion-sick as the Doom Slayer. But it’s super-fun to play as the Pain Elemental; I gravitate toward that demon in particular. I’m playing the game from a very different angle.

Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

Recent News