A technical analysis explains why porting Doom to the Neo Geo console is functionally impossible due to hardware limitations, though a simpler raycasting demo approximating Wolfenstein 3D is possible.
<p>Here at Ars, we've taken pleasure in reporting on versions of <em>Doom</em> that run on everything from <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/01/how-to-get-doom-running-on-a-pair-of-earbuds/">wireless earbuds</a> and <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/09/hacker-exploits-printer-web-interface-to-install-run-doom/">printers</a> to <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/10/how-to-get-doom-running-in-windows-notepad-exe/">Windows' notepad.exe</a> and <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/07/doomception-how-modders-got-doom-to-run-inside-of-doom/">even inside <em>Doom</em> itself</a>. So when we hear that a piece of game-playing hardware from the '90s (or later) <em>can't</em> run <em>Doom</em>, our ears perk up.</p>
<p>That hardware is the Neo Geo, an early '90s game console that players of a certain age will remember for <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/08/todays-game-consoles-are-historically-overpriced/">its eye-watering launch price</a> and its relatively strong pixel-pushing power for the time. Despite that relative power, though, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f1-7c6WX10">a fascinating new video from Modern Vintage Gamer</a> argues that the Neo Geo's architecture makes it particularly ill-suited for a port of id's famously easy-to-port game.</p>
<div class="ars-video ars-video--horizontal"><div><div class="relative" allow="fullscreen" loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4f1-7c6WX10?start=0&wmode=transparent"></div></div></div>
<p>At first glance, the Neo Geo seems like it should be up to the task of running <em>Doom</em>. The Motorola 68000 CPU inside the console is the same one powering the Commodore Amiga, which has seen <a href="https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Amiga">quite a few homebrew <em>Doom</em> ports</a> over the years.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/06/why-a-neo-geo-port-of-doom-is-functionally-impossible/">Read full article</a></p>
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# Why a Neo Geo port of Doom is functionally impossible
Source: [https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/06/why-a-neo-geo-port-of-doom-is-functionally-impossible/](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/06/why-a-neo-geo-port-of-doom-is-functionally-impossible/)
## Neo Wolfenstein
While those limitations might hold back a Neo Geo*Doom*port, the system may still be able to handle a simpler FPS like*Wolfenstein 3D*\. Modern Vintage Gamer put together a simple Neo Geo raycasting demo for a video that approximates that game’s 90\-degree walls, flat floors, and ceilings\.
[](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/neowolf.png)
The “walls” in this raycasting demo are simply 4\-pixel\-wide sprites that have been scaled up by the Neo Geo hardware\.
The “walls” in this raycasting demo are simply 4\-pixel\-wide sprites that have been scaled up by the Neo Geo hardware\.Credit:[Modern Vintage Gamer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f1-7c6WX10)
The raycaster works by sending out rays from the player’s position to detect the distance to the first wall the player can see in that line\. That data then determines the heights and colors for each of a set of 80 4\-pixel\-wide sprites arranged horizontally across the display, which act as pieces of wall\. Since the Neo Geo’s scaling hardware can efficiently stretch those sprites vertically without much overhead, the raycasting data can be quickly converted into a chunky approximation of a first\-person view\.
MVG’s simple, unoptimized Neo Geo raycaster currently runs at just eight frames per second via emulation without any of*Wolfenstein 3D*‘s enemies or game logic\. And the raycasting system would still be wildly insufficient for*Doom*elements like raised platforms, staircases, elevators, textured walls and ceilings, etc\.
For all those reasons, MVG believes the only practical way to get*Doom*running on a Neo Geo is to pack additional hardware into the cartridge, much like the Super FX2 chip that powered[the limited SNES port of the game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fTKGsq5Oa4)\. Failing that kind of extra processing power, he wagers that the system will likely remain*Doom\-*free for the foreseeable future\.
“I don’t want to say it’s impossible because as soon as you say that something is impossible, the gauntlet has been thrown down,” MVG added\.
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