Gaming press outlets, streamers, and YouTubers eager to get their hands on a copy of Doom will unfortunately have to wait until May 14th like the general public. As Kotaku reports, Bethesda Softworks has stated that the game will not be available until it’s official release date this upcoming Friday.
This should necessarily be a red flag to gamers, alluding to the idea of an unfinished game. As the game will include a sizeable multiplayer aspect to it, it’s very possible that Doom won’t be available any earlier than its release date to give an accurate representation of it’s multiplayer facilities, with fully populated servers. The practice is pretty common, and the same strategy was used for the release of Diablo III in 2012 and StarCraft II: Legacy Of The Void just last year.
Doom will feature a large arsenal of firepower, including the classic BFG 9000. It’s campaign will be feature a combat system called “push forward combat”, encouraging speed and fighting without having to take cover or healing. The multiplayer mode will include five different modes, including Deathmatch, Freeze Tag, and Domination, and will allow players to transform and play as one of the demons.