DOOM: The Dark Ages, which launched recently, is reportedly struggling to hit the 1 million sales figure, despite boasting high player engagement. Bethesda announced a few days ago that DOOM: The Dark Ages had reached an impressive 3 million players in just one week. However, the gap between the player count and actual sales numbers is raising eyebrows. According to industry sources, the game has yet to cross the 1 million unit sales threshold.
Sales Looking Grim?
Bethesda had previously declared that DOOM: The Dark Ages marked the fastest-launching title in id Software’s history, amassing around 3 million players within its first week. This was highlighted as a player acquisition rate seven times faster than its predecessor, Doom Eternal.
However, Rickard Linder, Co-founder of Alinea Analytics, a firm that scrutinizes such statistics, posted on Linkedin suggesting the game hasn’t actually reached one million sales yet. Linder pointed out that the game’s day-one availability on Xbox Game Pass is a primary reason for the high player count not translating into high sales figures.
Add to this the game’s demanding system requirements and a reportedly high price point, and the number of actual buyers seems to have dwindled further. Bethesda, for its part, has yet to officially release any concrete sales numbers for the game. The Premium Edition of DOOM: The Dark Ages includes a story expansion pack, for which a release date has not yet been announced. The expectation is that Bethesda aims to convert Game Pass players into paying customers by enticing them to purchase this additional content.