DOOM: The Dark Ages review sung its praises, but it may not necessarily be a crowd-pleaser early on.

DOOM: The Dark Ages is struggling on Steam compared to its predecessors, according to VG247. When looking at the new game's SteamDB figures compared to those of Eternal and DOOM (2016), The Dark Ages' peak concurrent player count is well below both of its predecessors'. In fact, The Dark Ages' peak of 31,470 over launch weekend isn't even a third of Eternal's 104,891. The Dark Ages is even trailing the 2016 reboot's peak by about 13,000.

The Dark Ages Falters Behind Eternal And 2016 On Steam

Lowest Peak Concurrent Player Count Of The Trilogy

DOOM: The Dark Ages could still see a surge in player count, but the first weekend is typically when a single-player game reaches its all-time peak. The DOOM series prequel pivots to a notable focus on melee combat, and is distinctly slower in pace than the frantic Eternal, but that novelty doesn't seem to have attracted players on Steam. Generally, The Dark Ages has been reviewed just about as well as the two previous entries, but the disparity between it and Eternal's peak concurrent player numbers is very stark.

Steam figures don't, of course, take into those playing on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, nor does it tally other PC platforms, such as PC Game . PC Gaming has been steadily growing in popularity, though, so such a large dip from 2020's Eternal to this year's The Dark Ages is a little baffling. With The Dark Ages entering the data pool, though, perhaps Eternal should be viewed as more of an outlier for its much higher player count – it likely got a boost for releasing right as the COVID-19 pandemic was ramping up.

Our Take: Game May Be Partly To Blame, But It Can't Be The Whole Story

The Trilogy's First Game To Launch Day One On Game

A significant caveat to DOOM: The Dark Ages' comparatively low player count during launch weekend is its inclusion on Game Ultimate and PC Game day one. Eternal was released roughly six months before ZeniMax Media (id Software's parent company) was acquired by Microsoft, so it didn't arrive on Game as part of Xbox Game Studios' offerings until well after its launch, when it hit its all-time peak. Those playing on PC Game don't factor into SteamDB's calculations.

Even with that in mind, it feels disingenuous to put the disparity solely on Game . Eternal's launch during COVID certainly plays into its much higher peak player count, but the reception to Eternal, both good and bad, may also be influencing The Dark Ages' performance. Eternal was very well received, but remains divisive for many who didn't gel with its high-flying action. The slower nature of DOOM: The Dark Ages could be a turn-off for those who loved Eternal, and those who disliked Eternal may have simply given up on the series.

Sources: VG247, SteamDB