One of the year’s biggest games is on the way, as DOOM: The Dark Ages has a release date. During the Xbox Developer_Direct 2025 on Thursday, the teams at Bethesda Softworks and id Software shared that this medieval prequel featuring the Slayer will be launching on May 15, 2025 across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5.
As an Xbox first-party game, the standard edition of DOOM: The Dark Ages is included day one with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. In addition to the standard edition, DOOM: The Dark Ages is also getting a Deluxe edition that packs in some extra cosmetics, future campaign DLC, and two day early access, meaning you’ll be able to start mulching demons on May 13 instead.
If you weren’t able to watch it live, you can check out the Developer_Direct presentation below:
Rounding out a packed year for Xbox
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a prequel to id’s 2016 DOOM, taking players earlier in the Slayer’s war against demonkind. The game is explicitly themed around a medieval setting, with the weapons you wield and the demons you face being inspired by dark fantasy as much as science-fiction. That means finally getting to hop into the towering Atlan mechs and pummel gargantuan demons, as well as flying around on the back of a fire-breathing cybernetic dragon. I’m thrilled with what I’ve seen, and you can check out my impressions of the game from a hands-off preview.
While DOOM is slated to arrive in May, it’s hardly the only big Xbox title on the way this year. Microsoft has several first-party games scheduled for 2025 from across its various publishing imprints.
One of the other games coming soon (and also featured in the Developer_Direct presentation) is Xbox Game Studios and Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight, a third-person adventure diving into Southern American folklore and featuring fantastical creatures. South of Midnight is launching on April 8, 2024.
The Xbox Game Studios Publishing division has also been busy, revealing Ninja Gaiden 4 during the Developer_Direct. This new take on the iconic action series is being co-developed between Team Ninja and PlatinumGames, and it’s slated to launch in Fall 2025.
Outside of that, there’s myriad other titles, including Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed, Playground Games’ Fable, the Xbox release of Towerborne, and more to look forward to in the months ahead. The Xbox Game Pass lineup is even more stacked when piling in third-party titles, like Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which is slated to launch on April 24, 2025.
