Doom’s new expansion shows just what makes id Software special

# Doom’s new expansion shows just what makes id Software special Source: [https://www.theverge.com/games/963515/doom-the-dark-ages-revelations-review](https://www.theverge.com/games/963515/doom-the-dark-ages-revelations-review) This week should have been a celebration for*Doom*developer id Software\. The studio just launched*Revelations*, a meaty expansion for*Doom: The Dark Ages*that adds a powerful new weapon and more demonic levels to blast through\. Even though I hadn’t picked up*The Dark Ages*for more than a year, it only took moments before I fell right back into the familiar loop from id’s modern*Doom*games\. Each plays differently, but they all have a similar foundation built around fast\-paced shooter action that makes them feel iconically*Doom*— and unlike pretty much anything else\. But instead the launch has been overshadowed\. As part of Xbox’s mass layoffs and strategy “reset,” id was gutted\. The specific figures vary, but reports all paint a grim picture\.*GamesBeat*[reports that](https://gamesbeat.com/inside-a-studio-layoff-big-questions-for-microsofts-intentions-for-id-software/)“at least” 92 of the 185 full\-time id employees, or about 50 percent of the studio, were laid off\.[*Game Developer*obtained](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/report-around-half-of-the-id-software-team-have-been-laid-off)a Texas WARN notice saying that 96 employees were cut from id’s Richardson, Texas, office, and 40 remote workers reporting to that location were laid off, too\. Sources[speaking to*Kotaku*](https://kotaku.com/the-cuts-at-doom-maker-id-software-go-shockingly-deep-i-dont-see-how-they-make-a-game-with-that-team-2000713860)believe that the team working on the studio’s proprietary id Tech game engine has just one employee left\. Whichever way you count it, it appears the id of today is a shell of the studio that it was at the beginning of the week\. And just as that is happening,*Revelations*shows exactly what made the studio special\. [](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/ss_11a281028fce729b2ee4ac1dba64c652bcb4c07e.1920x1080.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100) Image: Bethesda Softworks *The Dark Ages*[expanded the*Doom*formula](https://www.theverge.com/games/667980/doom-the-dark-ages-review-xbox-ps5-pc), especially with a new shield that doubled as a throwable buzzsaw, but in the process added some unnecessary features\.*Revelations*wisely focuses more on the core*Doom*formula of taking down wave after wave of bad guys and significantly cuts down on the rest\. *Revelations*also takes things up a notch by giving The Slayer a new spear\. You can swing it like a sword to hit nearby enemies, toss it like a grappling hook to zip forward, or, with upgrades, stab bad guys or throw it like a javelin\. With the shield, I usually got up close and personal with demons, taking a spray and pray and[parry](https://www.theverge.com/games/667900/doom-the-dark-ages-clair-obscur-expedition-33-parry-season)approach\. With the spear, I’d stay more at a distance, dodging foes and coming in for a punishing blow when the time was right\. The game became more of a dance than an exercise in brute force\. If you like modern*Doom*, you’ll probably like everything else*Revelations*includes\. Familiar enemies are back, such as the spider\-like[Arachnotron](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Arachnotron/Doom:_The_Dark_Ages), the[flying Revenant](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Revenant/Doom:_The_Dark_Ages), and the[lumbering Mancubus](https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Mancubus/Doom:_The_Dark_Ages)\. Battles take place in big arenas, and in fights, I almost always feel like I’m*just*about to run out of ammo, armor, or health until I get a thrilling kill that gives me more resources to survive\. It’s all backed by a pulsing metal soundtrack that makes the action that much more awesome\. If what I just described sounds like it could have been said about*Doom*2016 or*Doom Eternal*, you’re right\. id knows what a*Doom*game is and what it wants a*Doom*game to be, and*Revelations*is one of the best examples yet of what modern*Doom*can be\. Despite pioneering the FPS genre,*Doom*remains distinct from its contemporaries by focusing on brutal, unrelenting action\. It’s something the studio was able to explore and refine over literally decades; the original*Doom*launched in 1993, and its sequels all updated or expanded the concept in some form\. And that’s not even including the studio’s other genre\-defining games, like*Quake*,*Wolfenstein 3D*, and*Rage*\. It’s unclear what id’s future is;*GamesBeat*says the studio had been trying out ideas like a multiplayer or co\-op version of*Doom*, a*John Wick*\-style game, and even a new*Perfect Dark*\. But like other[cut\-down Xbox studios](https://www.theverge.com/games/963024/microsoft-xbox-reset-obsidian-fallout-layoffs), if id is going to make another*Doom*, it’s going to be chasing a[difficult goal](https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/961924/xbox-billion-users)in a deteriorated state\. **Follow topics and authors**from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates\. - Jay Peters