Id Software Confirms Its Next Game Is in Development, Led by Doom Director Hugo Martin

Doom developer Id Software is working on its next game, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced Friday. Details about the project remain under wraps and the studio said it would be some time before it was ready to share more about the game. Id Software also announced a new combat challenge mode for Doom: The Dark Ages.

Sharma announced the game as part of Xbox's ongoing 25th anniversary celebrations. The Xbox boss confirmed that Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations was getting a new mode next week, before revealing that id Software had begun work on its next title.

“We're incredibly excited about our next project, a new game from our teams in Texas and Frankfurt, with game direction once again by Hugo Martin,” id said in a response to Sharma's post on X. “It'll be some time before we're ready to share more but we can't wait for you to see what we're working on.”

Martin is an id Software veteran who served as game director on both Doom Eternal and Doom: The Dark Ages. His involvement suggests the studio could be working on yet another Doom title. Id Software has previously also worked on Wolfenstein, Quake, and Rage franchises.

Id Software has also not announced a release window for its next game.

Doom: The Dark Ages Gets New Mode

Doom: The Dark Ages, meanwhile, is getting a free combat challenge mode next week. Slaughter mode will arrive as a free update for owners of Doom: The Dark Ages' Revelations expansion and users who own the Premium edition of the base game.

The arcade-style mode presents an endless combat gauntlet with escalating difficulty, where players will cut through hordes of enemies and bosses. As players slaughter more enemies, they will collect Skulls, which unlock various rewards. 

Progressing through multiple rounds will also allow players to reach a checkpoint where they can choose to cash in their earned Skulls and end the run, or risk all unsecured Skulls to carry on playing. The mode will be added to Doom: The Dark Ages on November 16.

These new announcements come weeks after id Software was hit with layoffs in July as part of widespread cuts at Xbox. Roughly half the studio—reportedly 136 employees—was impacted by job cuts.

In a statement following the layoffs, id Software had expressed confidence in its ability to make games despite the reductions. 
“We still have the crew we need to build the games and tech we're known for. The team today is about the same size we were when making Doom 2016,” the studio had said at the time. “We have always had a flat studio where everyone is a maker, and we will remain true to that philosophy moving forward.”